A Rough Going

CRB Global Bank of the CRB group has been in the news from time to time. When the RBI granted in-principle licence to the group to set up a private sector bank, eyebrows were raised. Now, a year after the licence was granted, and the next crop of applicants have already received the go-ahead, the bank has yet to launch operations. The reason: the promoters are finding it difficult to raise the stipulated Rs 100 crore. The belief in banking circles is that the RBI is not very happy about this, since it does not speak very highly about the CRB group's credibility or financial strength. In fact, it is widely believed that the group's feverish efforts to garner the initial capital through a private placement of debentures is being watched very closely by the central bank.