I have to add my own two cents to this discussion about OmaSp’s lending mess.
I personally took out a loan for my company from OmaSp exactly during that period of Sydänlammi’s rapid growth. The loan was for real estate investments, and the amounts were a few hundred thousand. We went through extremely detailed discussions and negotiations regarding how much credit could be granted. As for collateral values, I recall negotiations started at 40%, and eventually, the collateral was valued at 60%. Personal guarantees had to be provided, and despite it being a corporate account, I had to move my personal banking there as well to get the loan approved. In no way did I get the impression that credit was easy to come by. It has been confusing to read discussions about how people apparently got loans from the bank just by walking through the door, regardless of whether they even had legal business plans in place.
By no means am I defending OmaSp’s conduct, which seems to have been a total shambles. I just wanted to bring a slightly different perspective to the general sentiment regarding the bank’s operations.
It should also be noted that I don’t really enjoy being a customer of the bank, and I will terminate the relationship the day the loans are paid off. There are stupid extra fees for everything possible, and the customer service isn’t nearly as exceptional as the bank advertises. At least as a premium customer, I get faster service from Nordea.