About

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) began operations in 1993 as a commercial bank tasked with helping to develop the Shanghai economy to global financial centre status. With 2015 asets under mangement of $676bn and around 31,000 employees, it has grown into one of the most significant commercial banks in the region, with its shares traded on the Shanghai stock exchange. Iris Kwok, SPDB’s head of legal and compliance, is a financial legal specialist with a wealth of experience with some of the major players in the industry. Kwok held the head of legal and compliance role with Agricultural Bank of China over two separate spells from 2006-2009 and 2010-2013 respectively, a significant achievement given the significance and prestige attached to the bank. She also undertook a one year period as head of the legal and compliance department with China Construction Bank, another vast Chinese banking concern that again highlights Kwok’s high-level credentials. Beginning her tenure with SPDB in 2013, Kwok joined at a time when the pace of growth in China, while still rapid, has not reached the heights previously achieved This has provided unique challenges for the bank, especially in the field of compliance as the regulatory framework of the Chinese banking sector becomes better codified and more sophisticated.