A tale of derring duo ; Kotak Bank and YES Bank started about the same time and are growing smartly - but with distinct strategies.

They are both towering personalities in the world of finance. Oneis a professional banker who went on to start a bank; the other isan entrepreneur who founded a financial services firm when in hismid-20s and, 18 years later, his nonbanking finance company, orNBFC, became the first to convert into a bank. The common thread:Both got their banking licences in 2003-04, a few quarters apart.

The journeys of Rana Kapoor's YES Bank, and Uday Kotak's KotakMahindra Bank, or KMB, began around at the same time. But the routescould not be more different. YES Bank has positioned itself as abank for "future businesses of India" - think food and agribusiness,life sciences and …