In 2000, rating agency Crisil had assigned the highest safety rating to IDBI's bond issues. By 2002, another rating agency, ICRA, had downgraded the development financial institution's long-term programmes. All of this pointed to the need to reshape the mother entity. But the situation was not improved as the government dithered over who would be the boss at IDBI after G P Gupta retired in January 2001. The finance ministry kept appointing officers as deputy managing directors to run the place, until P P Vora, chairman of National Housing Bank, was appointed chairman and managing director. His file had been held up on vigilance queries, even as a long line of officers from IDBI stood in queue for the post.