Agricultural transformation and implications for designing rural financial policies in Romania

The current depth and future development of rural finance in Romania are discussed in the context of Romania's macroeconomic and agricultural transformation. The rural finance system in CEE countries is part of the overall agricultural support system and still serves to transfer implicit subsidies to agriculture. The paper argues that building an efficient rural finance system to address the financial demands of the private agricultural sector requires a multi-level approach. Innovations are needed: at the finance system level, in particular to create an effective regulatory and supervisory framework and to free the Central Bank from government interference; at the level of financial organisations, to give highest priority to efficiency and credit worthiness when approving credit; and at the level of financial services to adapt administration procedures and product design to the demands of the rural clientele.