meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
How to Lend Money to Strangers

Lending innovation in Moldova, with Bogdan Plesuvescu (Victoriabank)

How to Lend Money to Strangers

Brendan le Grange

Business, Careers, Fintech, Management, Lending, Credit, Banking

4.943 Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2022

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I used to feel a little bit exotic knowing a person born in Moldova, but since he left as a baby, that’s actually all I knew about Moldova. It turns out, I should have been paying attention because it may be a small country, but Moldova is standing on the threshold of significant change: on the one hand, a formal push is now underway to bring them into the EU but on the other, there’s also the still-present threat of Russian aggression.


Moldova was once in the USSR, but arguably its historical and cultural links are stronger with its Western neighbour, Romania. In this episode, we explore those ties - and the broader state of the Moldovan banking landscape - with Bogdan Plesuvescu, CEO of Victoriabank.


If you’d like to start a conversation with Bogdan, you can find him on LinkedIn like I did, and although we didn’t really talk about it, if it his sailing you’re more interested in, which has somehow become a recurring theme among my guests, you might also want to check out his Twitter


You can read more about Victoriabank Moldova at https://www.victoriabank.md/en/ (including their VB24 Pay, Garmin Pay and Apple Pay offerings as mentioned)

Bogdan also spoke about all the help the people of Moldova have been offering to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. I can’t personally vouch for Refugee Support EU, but if you’re interested in helping they seem to be a good place to start your search.


Finally, if it is me you're after, you can find me on my LinkedIn page (feel free to connect), my action-adventure novels on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ as well as on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24


If you have any feedback or questions, if you would like to participate in the show, or if you'd like to find full written transcripts with timestamps head on over to HowtoLendMoneytoStrangers.Show


Regards,


Brendan


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Monks looks to the future to meet your aspirations.

0:04.0

That's why we take time to consider those key themes that we believe will provide opportunities for the years ahead.

0:10.0

Looking forward in this way, rather than backwards, helps our search for those companies that will shape the future.

0:16.0

We think it's a better way to deliver returns you can look forward to.

0:20.0

Monks is managed by Bayley Gifford.

0:22.0

A key information document is available by visiting BayleyGifford.com.

0:26.0

As with any investment, capital is at risk.

0:30.0

Between Moldova and Romana, there is a 15-year gap.

0:36.0

And during my last four years living in Moldova, many times I had moments of Deja Vu, saying,

0:44.0

oh, it seems that I know what might happen in the future because I lived in my own country 10 or 15 years ago.

0:52.0

But this year is the year when the officially apply for European accession.

0:58.0

People are speaking so much right now about European Union.

1:02.0

So that's why I would say that Moldova should follow the same pet like other Eastern European country,

1:09.0

followed, not on Romana, but Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Warsaw.

1:14.0

Welcome to how to lend money to strangers with Brendan Legrange.

1:22.0

I've worked in consumer lending strategy for a little over 20 years,

1:26.0

taking on roles across the credit life cycle in Africa, Asia and Europe.

1:31.0

In that time, I've had the pleasure and sometimes just the experience of working with many different people.

1:37.0

So I'm pretty confident when I say that, Roman Zilbering is one of the true characters of credit risk strategy.

1:43.0

Just as comfortable solving errors in complex Sascode as he is propping up the bar.

1:48.0

Any bar, but in particular, I remember one with peanut shells on the floor and turtles in little perspix cages

1:55.0

that use its position as the only bar within walking distance of our office in Kallun to charge almost unacceptable rates for a pint.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brendan le Grange, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Brendan le Grange and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.