Kotak's Vaswani Earns Highest Bank CEO Salary in FY25, Receives ₹12.95 Crore in Compensation
In the financial year 2025 (FY25), the highest-paid CEOs in the Indian banking sector have been identified, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO K. Krithivasan leading the way with an annual salary of ₹26.52 crore. However, specific salary details for top executives in public sector banks remain undisclosed.
K. Krithivasan's impressive salary package includes a fixed salary of ₹1.39 crore, allowances worth ₹2.12 crore, and a commission of ₹23 crore. TCS, primarily an IT services company, serves as a useful benchmark for corporate India executives.
Among public sector banks, CEOs such as Ashok Chandra of Punjab National Bank, Rajneesh Karnatak of Bank of India, and Binod Kumar of Indian Bank have led their banks to pay substantial dividends to the government in FY25, indicating strong bank performance. Yet, specific salary or compensation figures are not provided in the sources.
In the private sector, Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and MD of ITC, draws a salary of ₹25.66 crore, and Infosys CEO Salil Parekh leads India Inc with a total compensation of ₹80.6–82 crore, showcasing the scale of pay amongst top executives.
State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman CS Setty earned an annual salary of ₹63.87 lakh in FY25, while HDFC Bank's MD & CEO, Sashidhar Jagdhishan, was the second-highest paid bank CEO in FY25 with a salary of ₹12.06 crore.
Notably, historically, HDFC Bank's CEO has drawn the highest salary among large banks in India, but this was not the case in FY25. HDFC Bank hired a total of 49,713 new employees in FY25, with 35,933 male employees and 13,780 female employees. The bank's annual attrition rate also fell from 27% in FY24 to 23% in FY25.
SBI is taking a new approach to talent acquisition, leveraging social media, head-hunters, consultants, and engaging video campaigns beyond traditional advertisements. The bank also hired 1,770 officers and issued advertisements for 14,191 clerical cadre vacancies for FY26. SBI is focusing on lateral hiring to bring in specialized expertise in areas such as IT, Information Security, Risk, Wealth Management, and Economics.
Axis Bank hired 31,674 new employees in FY25, with over 10,000 employees hired directly from campus and academia programs. Amitabh Chaudhry from Axis Bank's salary increased from ₹9.64 crore in FY24 to ₹9.68 crore in FY25.
V Vaidyanathan, chief of IDFC First Bank, received an annual pay of ₹5.54 crore in FY25. HDFC Bank is considering issuing bonus shares on July 19, 2025, but the date for a potential special dividend from HDFC Bank has not been specified in the given text.
In summary, while specific CEO salary data for public sector banks in FY25 is not available, it appears that private sector bank CEO salaries or related top industry CEOs earn in the range of ₹20-30 crore or more, while dividend data shows significant government earnings from public sector banks but without explicit CEO pay figures.
- TCS, a business in the IT services sector, serves as a useful benchmark for corporate India executives, with its CEO K. Krithivasan earning a substantial sum through a fixed salary, allowances, and commission.
- Among public sector banks, CEOs such as Ashok Chandra, Rajneesh Karnatak, and Binod Kumar led their banks to pay substantial dividends to the government, yet specific salary or compensation figures for these executives remain undisclosed.
- In the private sector, top executives such as Sanjiv Puri and Salil Parekh draw substantial salaries, with Parekh leading the pack with a total compensation of around ₹80.6–82 crore, while details regarding other top industry CEOs' pay are available.
