A remarkable upfield shift of the pyα protons of complexed 2,2′-bipyridine in [cis-Pd(bpy)(NO3)2] is observed which is considered to originate from the anisotropic influence of suitably positioned coordinated nitrate anions around the Pd(II) centre of the molecule. A typical complexation-induced downfield shift is observed for the NH2 protons in [cis-Pd(en)(NO3)2] where 'en' stands for ethylenediamine. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.