Problems with collateralisation of the loans
Farmers have to give long-term assets as collateral for short-term loans. Banks
typically require residential property in urban areas, because the market for real estate in rural
areas is thin and they will not be able to sell the property when the borrower defaults. In
several CEE countries, banks often refuse agricultural land as collateral even when property
rights are fully restored, because of the absence of a land market, or because land prices are
too low. E.g. in Bulgaria, bankers accept about 80% of the market value of fixed assets in