The beneficiaries of loans that can be guaranteed by the Fund may be natural persons and legal entities acting in their capacity as farmers (ii) who conduct agricultural activities in the sectors of crop/livestock farming and aquaculture, as follows:

1. commercial companies as defined by Law no. 31/1990, as subsequently amended and supplemented;
2. authorised natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises pursuing economic activities, established in accordance with Government Emergency Ordinance no. 44/2008;
3. associations, agricultural companies and agricultural cooperatives established under Law no. 36/1991 on agricultural companies and other forms of association in agriculture and under Law no. 566/2004 on agricultural cooperation;
4. natural persons who conduct agricultural activities in the sectors of crop/livestock farming and aquaculture.

For the purpose of considering and deciding whether to provide the guarantee, the financing institutions* that have entered into Cooperation Agreements with FGCR shall observe the following general minimum conditions of guarantee:

• The loan must be used for purchasing agricultural land (iii)up to a cumulative ceiling of no more than 750 ha in ownership;
• The beneficiary must submit the documents issued by the Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture (APIA)/the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ANPA) which state the total area of land held by the beneficiary and the types of holding: lease, ownership, concession, etc.;
• The beneficiary’s rating by the financing institution must allow for the guarantee to be granted;
• The beneficiary must not be in financial distress (iv);
• The beneficiary must not be subject to insolvency proceedings and must not meet the criteria set forth by the national legislation for the initiation of collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors;
• The beneficiary/third-party guarantors must submit to the financing institution collateral guarantees that, together with the FGCR guarantee, fully cover the approved loan and the related interest. In the case of loans granted for purchasing agricultural land, the collateral guarantees will be secured with the land purchased from the loan money and/or with other assets owned by the borrower or by the third-party guarantors;
• The beneficiary must not have overdue amounts recorded in the Central Credit Register/Credit Bureau records (or, if such amounts exist, their payment must be confirmed by the date the guarantee is approved);
• A suretyship contract must be concluded with at least one natural person acting as stockholder/shareholder/director/legal representative of the loan beneficiary.

The following financing institutions have entered into Cooperation Agreements with FGCR that allow for simplified general conditions of guarantee: CEC Bank, Banca Transilvania, BRD GSG, EXIMBANK, First Bank, OTP Bank and Libra Internet Bank.

For those financing institutions that have not entered into Cooperation Agreements allowing for simplified general conditions of guarantee, the following requirements also apply:

• legal entities:

– must not have overdue debts to the general government budget, whereby the payment of such debts has not been regulated (staggered payment agreements, postponement, etc.) or they are larger than the amounts to be recovered from the government budget, as specified in the tax certificate;

– must not be subject to foreclosure by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) (unless such foreclosure is suspended following the approval of staggered payments for the tax obligations), according to Section III.D “Other mentions” in the tax certificate;

• natural persons:

– must have no debts with the competent fiscal authorities.

*The loan agreement can be signed before applying for the FGCR guarantee, subject to obtaining the guarantee from the Fund

As of 2019, the guarantee fee (single premium) has been reduced to 1.6 % per year for all beneficiaries of loans granted for purchasing agricultural land, irrespective of their type (commercial companies, authorised natural persons, individual enterprises, family enterprises, natural persons pursuing economic activities, etc.), as well as for newly established companies and companies that have never taken loans before.
As an exception, the fee will be set at 6.3 % for those beneficiaries who have outstanding guarantees on each 31 December, as well as for those who apply for an extension of the guarantee, for those whose payment capacity depends on long-lasting favourable conditions and for those who are defaulting or at risk of defaulting, including for those that are undergoing insolvency proceedings.

The fee applies only to the value of the FGCR guarantee, not to the entire loan value.

Where the lending period is shorter than one year, the fee is calculated for that period only.

For the purpose of considering and deciding whether to provide the guarantee, the financing institutions* shall submit to the Fund, at notificari@fgcr.ro, the following scanned documents:

FGCR-specific documents

• The guarantee application (a document reserved to the bank);
• A declaration on not being “in distress”
  • Simplified form – for natural persons, authorised natural persons, individual enterprises, family enterprises, and companies established less than three years before – Download Appendix 1.1
  • Complete form – for companies established for more than three years – Download Appendix 1.2

Documents that are usually included in the loan file of the financing institution:

• The latest annual balance sheet (for beneficiaries that are required by law to prepare a balance sheet and that have been registered with the National Trade Register Office (ONRC) for more than three years);
• Documents issued by APIA which state the total area of land held by the beneficiary and the types of holding: lease, ownership, concession, etc.;
• Certificate of company details issued (online) by the National Trade Register Office – NTRO, in its extended form, or other documents for those legal persons for which the NTRO does not issue certificates of company details, or identity card/document for natural persons.

* At present, the following financing institutions have entered into Cooperation Agreements with FGCR that allow for a simplified documentation and guarantee provision flow: CEC Bank, Banca Transilvania, BRD GSG, First Bank, OTP Bank, OTP Bank and Libra Internet Bank.

For those financing institutions that have not entered into Cooperation Agreements allowing for a simplified documentation and guarantee provision flow, the guarantee documentation shall also include, in addition to the above-mentioned documents:

• an analysis report prepared by the financing institution;
• the approval document(s) issued by the financing institution for the loan/other financial instruments, as appropriate, and the excerpt(s) from the minutes of the loan committee meeting;
• A declaration of acceptance of the FGCR policy on the processing of personal data, signed by the legal representative – Download Appendix 1.1.
• the latest balance sheet as at 30 June of the current financial year, duly submitted;
• the latest monthly trial balance prepared before the date of the guarantee application;
• a tax certificate valid on the date of the guarantee application, stating that the beneficiaries:
• have no overdue debts to the general government budget or such overdue amounts can be covered from the amounts to be recovered from the government budget;
• are not subject to foreclosure by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) (unless such foreclosure is suspended following the approval of staggered payments for the tax obligations), according to Section III.D “Other mentions” in the tax certificate;
• the tax certificate application, whereby the loan beneficiary requests that such certificate should detail the status of his tax obligations that entail foreclosure, as mentioned in the application form;
• a feasibility study/business case/business plan, as appropriate.