"US Dollar is the biggest financial terrorist in the world," says Uday Kotak

Making a huge statement against the US Dollar, Uday Kotak, the MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank said that it is the biggest financial terrorist in the world. He made this statement while speaking at a panel discussion at the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence 2023.

 

 

 

He said, "I genuinely feel that the biggest financial terrorist in the world is the US dollar. All our money is in nostro accounts and somebody in the US can say- you cannot withdraw it from tomorrow morning- and you are stuck. That is the power of the reserve currency."

 

Juxtaposing this grim situation in the present context, where the world is desperately looking for an alternative reserve currency, he highlighted a big, once-in-a-hundred-years opportunity for India to make the Indian Rupee the reserve currency for the world.

 

 

 

"I don't think Europe can [make their currency the reserve], because it is the disunited states of Europe. I don't think UK or Japan have the heft to be taking that position, though both the British Pound and the Yen are free currencies. China, I think, has a major issue of trust with many many countries around the world," he said.

 

Kotak went on to list out the requirements India must fulfil to build the rupee as a reserve currency. It is a long, sustained walk and run, he said, adding that the country "has to build strong institutions. It has to build a strong framework that is not dependent on the whims and fancies of anyone. India has to be trusted."

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