Oana joined as Romania country lead in early 2025, bringing 20 years of agricultural finance experience. We sat down with her to talk through what she inherited, what she changed, and what's coming next.
Watch the full interview on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu2pzfoqYaI
What she walked into
When Oana arrived, Romania had an active portfolio of around €5M and a sales team with two years on the ground. A solid foundation, but enforcement of some earlier loans had exposed gaps in collateral quality and legal documentation that needed addressing.
What she changed
The two biggest shifts: legal agreements were tightened to align with Romanian regulation (Lande has since won every court enforcement challenge brought against it), and collateral policy was overhauled. Real estate and land now back 80% of loans, up from 48% in 2024. Harvest and animal collateral were phased out for larger amounts, where enforcement in practice proved unreliable. Machinery loans now carry age-based LTV caps – as low as 30% for older equipment.
On the monitoring side, all active borrowers now get monthly calls. The sales team, handling around 600 applications per month and approving just 2–3%, has built two years of farmer-specific underwriting experience that's hard to replicate.
Being straight with investors
A small number of very early loans are expected to result in full write-offs – every recovery route has been exhausted. These are legacy cases from the platform's earliest period in Romania, before the current standards were in place. For the portfolio originated since Oana joined, she's confident – and the data is moving in the right direction.
What's next
The goal is €1M issued per month by end of 2025 and €2M by 2026. A new channel is opening through New Holland's largest Romanian dealer for machinery financing. And Oana is working to educate notaries and institutions on crowdfunding regulation — building the legal infrastructure that makes the whole market more reliable.
Watch the full interview on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu2pzfoqYaI