HDFC douses power struggle buzz

HDFC Bank on Thursday moved swiftly to stamp out speculation of an internal rift following the abrupt resignation of its part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty, with the board and management emphatically denying any power struggle or governance issues.Addressing analysts a day after the surprise exit, interim chairman Keki Mistry said there was "no power struggle within the bank" and stressed that the board had not witnessed "any kind of complete difference in opinion" in its meetings.Also Read: HDFC Bank rules out other reasons in part-time chairman Atanu Chakraborty's resignationYesterday, Atanu Chakraborty resigned from his posts , citing concerns over "certain happenings and practices" at the bank that he said were not aligned with his personal values and ethics."None of us are aware of the issues raised by Chakraborty in [his] letter," Mistry said, adding that there had been "no discussion with regards to governance within the board."The strong pushback comes as questions swirled around the circumstances of Chakraborty’s sudden resignation on Wednesday, which followed a board meeting held the same evening. The bank had already clarified in a regulatory filing that there were no reasons beyond those cited in his resignation letter.Mistry said the lender’s leadership remained aligned, dismissing suggestions of internal discord. "Management team does and will continue to work in cohesive manner," he said, adding that "there has been no discussion with regards to governance within board."He further underlined that regulators were fully informed. "RBI is fully in the loop and they are comfortable what is going on in the bank," he said.Also Read: Atanu Chakraborty quits as HDFC's part-time chairman, says bank's practices 'not in congruence with my ethics’Reinforcing the bank’s stance on governance, Mistry added, "I would never remain on the board if there were any issues with governance," while asserting that the institution remained "very very strong on ethics."The interim chairman also sought to reassure investors and stakeholders, saying there were “no material matters at this point of time” and that the board remained committed to “safeguarding investor confidence”.On leadership continuity, Mistry made it clear that Chakraborty’s exit would not impact the planned reappointment of CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan. “Nothing changes as far as CEO Sashi’s reappointment is considered,” he said.Echoing the reassurance, the CEO said the bank would "continue to ensure trust on the bank is maintained," while adding that it would "reexamine organisation structure as we move forward."Mistry also emphasised that the resignation had no bearing on the bank’s business performance. "What happened yesterday has nothing to do with operational profitability," he said.Looking ahead, he said the board would meet again "in due course" to decide on the next chairman, following his interim appointment which received swift approval from the Reserve Bank of India.With the leadership closing ranks and regulators kept in the loop, the bank sought to draw a line under the episode — even as the sudden nature of the exit continues to draw market attention.