Can a $400-million injection of federal bailout money to the “bank to the stars” in Beverly Hills really help revive the troubled U.S. economy?

That’s one of the questions the Treasury Department’s inspector general is asking in a review of the decision to award bailout funds to City National Bank, The Times has learned. The inspector general’s examination of the funding for City National reflects growing concern in Washington about whether the banking bailout is working.

The inquiry is not based on any suspected wrongdoing by City National. Instead, investigators see the review as a case study into how the Treasury Department is implementing its controversial program to infuse $250 billion into the nation’s banking system and why certain institutions were selected to participate.

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