Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
| Company type | Joint-stock commercial bank |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking, Financial services |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai , China |
Area served | China |
| Products | Banking services |
| Owner | Shanghai Municipal Government |
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, known as Pufa Bank in Chinese and SPD Bank in English, is a joint-stock commercial bank owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government and was founded in 1993.
On 23 September 1993, SPD Bank launched a 400 million A-share issuance on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the first shareholding commercial bank to be listed with authorization from both the Central Bank and China Securities Regulatory Commission following the introduction of the "Commercial Bank Law" and "Securities Law". The bank's registered capital reached RMB 2.41 billion. Subsequently, on 10 November 1999, 320 million shares were officially listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange under stock code 600000.
History
In 2012, SPD Bank collaborated with Silicon Valley Bank to establish a Shanghai-based financial institution aimed at providing loans to local technology startups. This represented the first Sino-American joint venture bank. By 2024, this entity was rebranded as Shanghai Innovation Bank and became wholly owned by SPD Bank.
In 2019, SPD Bank came under investigation for suspected involvement in money laundering and breaches of sanctions concerning North Korea. The allegations centered on facilitating transactions for North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which is known to support the country’s nuclear and missile development programs.
Misappropriation scandal in Chengdu
In April 2017, SPD Bank’s Chengdu branch was embroiled in a significant bad debt controversy involving hundreds of billions of yuan. Four individuals reportedly manipulated these funds through over 2,000 shell companies. Initially, SPD Bank denied any misconduct but later admitted to irregularities within the branch. Following this, the Chengdu branch manager retired and was succeeded by the manager from the Kunming branch.
Controversial use of deceased firefighters’ images in advertising
In April 2019, SPD Bank attracted public criticism for employing images of firefighters who perished in the Liangshan forest fire to advertise a credit card debt relief service. The bank’s credit card center displayed a poster offering "Exemption of outstanding credit card debts of martyrs in the Liangshan fire," which provoked widespread condemnation for insensitivity. SPD Bank issued an apology publicly and removed the image within one day.