MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday announced the appointment of Prakash Apte as part-time chairman of the Bank for a period up to December 31, 2020, subject to regulatory approvals.The announcement follows the retirement of incumbent part-time chairman Dr. Shankar Acharya, who will step down from his role on July 19, after serving as the director of the Bank since May, 2003, and part-time chairman since July 2006.Apte is a non-executive Independent Director of the Bank since March 2011 and also Independent Director on the Board of Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited. Prior to that, Apte served as the Managing Director of Syngenta India Ltd (SIL), a subsidiary of the Syngenta Group, a research-based global agribusiness firm.Apart from the new appointment, Kotak Bank announced its financial results for the fourth quarter, reporting a 15 percent increase in its profit after tax.As per the Bank, the standalone profit for fiscal year FY18 increased to Rs.4, 084 crore from Rs.3, 411 crore in FY17, thus registering a 20 percent hike. As on March 31 this year, the Bank claimed to be having a network of 1,388 full-fledged branches and 2,199 ATMs.Furthermore, the Board of Directors at its meeting held earlier in the day recommended a dividend of Rs. 0.70 per equity share having face value of Rs.5 for the year ended March 31, dividend for which would be paid after the approval of shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.