With ten years of experience in banking and more than five years in consulting, Dionis Bălan dedicates his time to identifying and developing suitable solutions for business expansion and for securing financing.
What does a financial consultant do?
First and foremost, a financial consultant is a very honest partner to the client—sometimes excessively honest. A financial consultant must view the business from the outside and inform the client by calling things what they are. Consultants can specialize in various areas, from accounting analysis to financial intermediation, as in my case. We look for investment funds, development-oriented banks, and financing partners who can support our clients.
When a client has a business idea or a new investment they want to implement, it is highly recommended to work with a financial consultant. The consultant can help significantly with drafting the business plan and preparing the financing file. Over time, depending on the relationship and the business, other aspects can develop. This is where the consultant becomes the client’s interface in discussions with banks or investment funds. Being an expert in the field, they must know how to present the client’s project or business idea.
What does financial intermediation mean for the client?
Financial intermediation means saved time and fewer headaches. Back when I worked in banking, I often saw major clients—companies with tens of millions in turnover—carrying physical files from bank to bank. We eliminate this stage entirely.
We take over the file, run a risk analysis, a business analysis, and a banking financial analysis, while working directly with our banking partners. We know exactly whom to approach—what type of bank, what type of banking personnel—which makes all the difference. This is essentially what financial intermediation entails.
What is your view of the Romanian entrepreneur, and what advice would you give?
As entrepreneurs grow their businesses, they should increasingly turn to a financial consultant—or even a legal consultant. Unfortunately, many Romanian entrepreneurs today want to control absolutely everything, from hiring a doorman to making major strategic decisions for the future of their company.
Ideally, they should recognize that they cannot do it all. If they built their business out of passion and pleasure, they should focus strictly on that. The need to control every detail should gradually disappear because, from my perspective, that is wasted time. Entrepreneurs should concentrate strictly on running the business, guiding it, and eventually building a board.
The most important step is for the Romanian entrepreneur to understand that they cannot lead and control everything. It’s not possible. It all comes down to financial education—but unfortunately, you cannot teach basic financial education to someone already 30 or 40 years old. They need to come to this realization themselves.
Many entrepreneurs fail precisely because they believe they do not need a financial consultant. Yet the Romanian banking system is cumbersome, bureaucracy is heavy, and I know cases where people simply gave up their business because of it. This is why I see many entrepreneurs reaching a saturation point, mentally and physically exhausted. That is where I step in—or a lawyer, or a marketing/PR agency—by taking responsibilities off their plate.
When you put the costs on paper, in the long run they are minimal compared to what you gain.
What solutions do you offer for the lack of financing faced by Romanian companies?
The solutions vary. Depending on the company, we can access bank loans—we have partners in almost all banks in Romania, two banks in the EU, and one in Japan. The products I offer depend largely on what the banks themselves can offer.
We try to build customized solutions. The higher you are on the corporate scale, the more likely it is to create a tailor-made financing product for that specific company. For SMEs, the products are standard; I can help mainly with documentation and contract negotiation.
Additionally, I can facilitate access to certain investment funds or strategic partners. When a company wants rapid development and is willing to sell a minority stake—under 40%—they may accept a partner, even a silent one. Anyone purchasing a stake is investing in the business. A business plan is created, the current business is reviewed, and then a future investment plan is drafted, including positive, realistic, and negative forecasts. Everyone then decides based on these.
Private investors can invest significantly larger amounts than banks, with lower costs, and they can open new markets because they are financially invested in the company’s success. An investor can offer far more than a bank.
These are the two main directions of our financial intermediation work. We also handle mergers and acquisitions. When a company is for sale, I have a portfolio of foreign investors interested in acquiring Romanian companies—full acquisitions—in sectors ranging from agriculture to automotive manufacturing. Transport is another area of interest, as many Romanian transport companies operate throughout the EU, and foreign buyers look to acquire logistics bases here.
How do you approach a client in insolvency or a hard-to-finance situation?
We live in a paradoxical environment. In 2018, we saw a record number of insolvency filings. Working with a company in insolvency is extremely difficult because banks are already highly reluctant to grant loans.
First, I must understand the company’s exact situation. Entrepreneurs can usually anticipate when insolvency is approaching. A business owner in insolvency must be completely honest—with banks, creditors, suppliers, and clients. Financing is possible through a very well-prepared business plan and full transparency, though only a few cases succeed.
Unfortunately, many banks—especially the large ones—have strict knockout criteria that prevent financing even if the entrepreneur later opens a new company. It requires a lot of work, and everything must be fully transparent.
Can contracts be customized for each client?
Yes, contracts are customized based on the client and the clauses. Most clients don’t realize that the contract they receive is negotiable. They simply read and sign. A consultant knows exactly what negotiation options exist within a financing contract.
It is essential to negotiate because a client should never become captive to a bank, and exiting that banking relationship can be very costly. It is equally important that the contract is well thought out. Ultimately, it is a contract, and both parties must benefit—not only the bank.