Rabobank promoter pulls out of banking venture

In a dramatic development, Harkirat Singh, one of the promoters of Rabobank’s local banking arm along with Ashok Kapur and Rana Kapoor,...

In a dramatic development, Harkirat Singh, one of the promoters of Rabobank’s local banking arm along with Ashok Kapur and Rana Kapoor, announced his pullout from the venture on Monday following sharp differences.

The three had received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) in-principle approval for setting up a bank in the private sector on February 7, 2002, and Singh’s pullout puts a big question mark on the whole project now. The local promoters — Singh, Kapur and Kapoor — were to together hold 51 per cent in the new bank.

Singh is scheduled to personally meet RBI officials soon. The central bank will take stock of Rabobank’s banking license in the light of this new development. When contacted, Singh did not comment on his future course of action. But to a query on whether he will team up with others with new banking ambitions, he said: ‘‘I have not given all that a thought, and nobody has sounded me out. But we will see. This development has hurt me, and I want to deal with this for now’’.

In a signed statement, Singh — who was the country-head of Deustche Bank in India till 1999 — pointed out that ‘‘developments in the recent past have convinced me that there is no longer a complete alignment of mutuality of vision going forward. Further, Rabobank now in consultation with the other two partners in my absence decided to appoint Kapur as the executive chairman and CEO. This decision is further evidence of lack of mutuality of the objectives of the bank as envisioned by me. I have, therefore, decided to withdraw as a promoter of this new banking company’’.