Harvey McGrath is being too smug too soon.

Prudential Chairman Harvey McGrath delivered something of a disingenuous defence this morning by asserting that there was ‘no chance’ of either him or CEO Tidjane Thiam resigning, and that ‘nobody has asked anyone to resign’.

The first assertion is, frankly, not within his grant: it’s up to the shareholders – and despite the guff about ‘the majority of shareholders’ supporting him, that’s certainly not my impression.

McGrath is also trying hard to position the “failure – if you want to call it that” as being entirely one about price. It’s hard to see what else one could call the bid except a failure, and half a billion Pounds thrown away – but the issue was about far more than price: it was about the market, the strategy and two blokes at the top not listening.

As for nobody being asked to resign, that is technically true – but only just. At least two senior players in the Pru are alleged by insiders to have told McGrath he should go.

Less pleasant gossip circulating in the Square Mile this morning concerned Thiam’s ethnicity. The Slog heard one remark to the effect that Thiam is ‘bombproof’ on account of being a landmark appointment – ie, first black CEO of a large institution. The reasoning is also referred to by the site Citywire. This is an unfortunate conclusion for people to reach: and anyway, the fact remains that in terms of Asian launches and statements about the wisdom of the AIA deal, McGrath was considerably higher-profile with the media than Thiam.