HDFC Bank CEO and MD Shashidhar Jagadishan said in an interview with TOI that there were matters on which he and the former chairman disagreed, and these were dealt with maturity at the board, and his resignation came as a surprise. However, the Chinese whispers outside gave it a dramatic flavor.When did you know about Atanu Chakraborty’s resignation?After 4 pm, there were some members who were part of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC), who came to know around 2:30 pm, but I came to know when the meeting was starting.What was your initial reaction?Obviously, like every other member of the board, I was very surprised because by then he had no reason to do it because what he did was over the top; He was very intense and was enjoying his role. He was handling matters efficiently. So, we asked him. We were even more shocked by the inclusion of these two lines. We asked him, “If you have a concern or issue, why don’t you please raise it?” To which he said that there is no issue to share. The board loudly asked him to remove it. He stood firm and we had to accept and move on.Has the Board constituted a committee or is considering an independent evaluation? Would you recuse yourself in the event of an investigation?We will be holding several board meetings during the week. There will be other meetings that we will call to conduct such studies or examinations as they deem appropriate. This is very premature. If the board process says it will be independent, whether it’s a committee or otherwise, I’m not going to be part of the committee.As CEO, are you comfortable with an independent investigation? Do you see the need for a completely independent panel?My personal view is that ideally, we should also have an independent person in our committee. As far as an independent panel, I need to understand… are there people who would be available? Or can there be a firm that can be formed? I am not able to imagine what the collective body must be thinking. But the heart of hearts, to be an independent individual or an independent body of individuals is right thinking.There have been rumors about issues between you and the former president which led to this episode… In good governance, it is important that there should be constructive discussions. But I need to put forward my different views and not necessarily accept whatever is being pushed. I would expect the same thought process in board and committee discussions. So, I am not sorry that there have been cases where we have agreed to disagree. But, this is only on concrete cases, not all cases. Those could be people’s issues. For example, we would take a view as management on promotions or restructuring. Or, it could be a performance evaluation matrix: what the thresholds should be for good performance.There was talk that the former chairman had strong views on certain issues and had addressed officials, and at some point, the RBI had talked to him. Are you aware of that?No, on the latter, I don’t have visibility. I am not aware of this. But, the final authority for approval rests with the NRC, where it is just a member; He’s not the one who does it. A report talks about a power struggle in the management… division heads are said to be behaving like satraps…One positive side of HDFC Bank is that there are people with a lot of institutional knowledge. This strengthens the organization. So, if some people have this perception, it is unfortunate. I am proud of my team. I wish I could protect and achieve all of them during my tenure. And, if I am nominated or even approved in the future, I would like to work with my team. If I am unable to fulfill his ambitions, I will be sad to see him go. But having said that, we do have adequate depth in the organization.Immediately after the resignation of the Chairman, action was taken against the employees involved in wrongful selling. There are reports that a complaint has been lodged with the police by an employee, which is what started it all. Can you clarify?No link exists between the issuance of AT1 bonds and the departure of the Chairman. There is an overlap of time, nothing more. The Dubai regulator launched a review that examined staff accountability, with the disciplinary panel sending findings to the board’s nomination committee, reflecting a rule-bound process. The issue was Dubai onboarding/documentation gap, not mis-selling. Shortcomings were identified and action was taken at all levels. In the Credit Suisse issue, customers were affluent and could make rational financial decisions. But when they lost money, they tried to find technical flaws and put the blame on the distributor. . Complaints of mis-selling by the bank are being made on social media and allegations are also being leveled against senior management persons. I am happy to say that despite being one of the largest organizations in terms of distributing third party products, we have one of the lowest number of mis-selling complaints that are accepted. I don’t apologize for this.
