Guangdong Development Bank (GDB) has launched a US$50 million three-year floating-rate certificate of deposit, reinforcing its creditworthiness after a row with Thomson BankWatch credit-rating agency.
A Thomson report in April said the bank's creditworthiness was in doubt because it had delayed payment of a letter of credit.
The bank denied the report and asked Thomson to 'rectify' its negative comments. BankWatch agreed to rewrite it.
An official at the bank's Guangzhou head office said the dispute with the agency had not affected support for the issue.
The bank had received 16 subscriptions worth more than $70 million and was forced to ask some to scale back their commitments.
The official said the $5 million letter of credit that spurred the report was issued on behalf of a customer later found to be in financial trouble. The bank was seeking repayment through the courts.