What is the risk class and why is it needed?
We feel it is our duty to explain the specifics of the risk classes assigned to investment projects to new members of our community and to remind our existing members.
Simply put, it is like a "grade" that our team assigns to every investment project announced on the platform, having objectively assessed the developer's collateral, business plan, equity share, project development, location, liquidity, and other criteria.
A similar principle is used by major credit rating agencies (e.g., "Fitch" or "Moody's") to examine the ability of states or companies to meet their obligations, but their rating systems are not identical, and similarly sounding ratings do not automatically imply the same risks.
On the "Röntgen" platform, projects with an A+, A, and A- risk rating are considered to be of the lowest risk. These projects are usually characterised by a large developer equity share, a very high collateral value reserve, and other aspects which we discuss below. The "Röntgen" team considers B risk ratings to be average, but only because we have made a strategic decision not to finance projects that score even lower (C and D). In "Röntgen's" assessment, B-group risk ratings are a solid choice from an investor's perspective, but they carry slightly more risk factors than A-group projects.
It is important to emphasize that every platform has different risk assessment policies and methodologies, so, for example, an A or B risk rating granted elsewhere does not automatically mean that "Röntgen" would assign the same score.
In this letter, we invite you to familiarize yourself with "Röntgen's" project rating practices. We hope this will help you make better-informed investment decisions.
Why is a risk rating needed?
A risk rating (or risk class) is an expression of investment project evaluation criteria agreed upon with the Bank of Lithuania (with letters ranging from the highest A+ to the riskiest D-), which is set in a standardized manner for every financed project or its individual stages.
This tool is primarily needed to consistently and objectively assess the risks of projects offered to investors. It is important that the final risk rating is a reflection of a combination of a dozen independently evaluated criteria. In other words, different investment projects may have the same final rating, for example, B+ (i.e., medium risk).
For example, an A- (good) risk rating can be assigned to investment projects where the collateral is either already completed assets (built apartments) or a plot of land with a building permit. At first glance, a plot of land might sound less liquid than a built apartment, but if such a project has a building permit that is difficult and time-consuming to obtain in Vilnius, and an experienced developer has invested a large share of their equity capital into it, such a plot would be highly attractive among other developers in today's market, and the project would therefore have a good risk rating. Conversely, a completed apartment does not automatically guarantee liquidity, even if there are no construction risks remaining in the asset. However, if the property already has pre-sales, meets market prices, and targets its segment, such collateral (apartments) would result in a good risk rating. We note that "Röntgen" evaluates different practices and criteria depending on the development stage: land plot phase, active construction works, completed assets, etc. However, both the highest and medium risk ratings are possible at all stages of development.
Thus, we suggest treating the risk rating as an initial impression of the overall project assessment according to the thorough methodology applied by the "Röntgen" team. At the same time, we emphasize that the risk rating is an individual project evaluation indicator, but it is not an investment recommendation. Therefore, we always invite you to familiarize yourself with the detailed risk and opportunity assessments, facts, and figures provided in each investment opportunity. In every case, we describe the risks in projects in detail and aim to take into account the unique context of the specific project.
Regardless of the "Röntgen" team's assessment, a large part of investors usually have criteria that are personally most important to them or best suited to their investment strategy, most often related to the developer's reliability, project location, lending intensity (collateral value reserve), etc.
We emphasize that although crowdfunding is a regulated activity supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, platforms are given space to assess project risks themselves, but they must take into account all prudential indicators and good practices. Therefore, the assessment criteria and ratings of each platform are not automatically identical.
How does "Röntgen" evaluate projects?
Although all platforms agree on their exact evaluation methodologies (including criterion weight coefficients, etc.) with the Bank of Lithuania, not all market participants disclose them publicly. However, "Röntgen" not only publishes its "Rules for Assessing the Credibility of Project Owners" but also constantly discusses specific evaluation criteria, principles, good and bad practices, risks, and measures to avoid them.
The "Röntgen" risk rating itself is a reflection of a dozen different criteria on a scale from D- (lowest score or highest risk) to A+ (highest score or lowest risk). We currently only finance projects that fall into the A and B assessment categories (from B- to A+). Also, to date, we do not finance projects with an LTV (loan-to-value) ratio greater than 70%. In all cases, "Röntgen" projects are secured by a first mortgage on the real estate.
In general, any business (developer) application does not automatically guarantee inclusion among the projects offered on our platform. The majority of applications received are rejected on the "Röntgen" platform. The developer's path to the platform consists of general information verification, detailed analysis, document collection, risk assessment, and finally, approval by the "Röntgen" credit committee.
During the entire application analysis process, the following criteria are evaluated, which are supported by official documents, public and non-public information, third-party data, objective facts, as well as the expert opinion of the "Röntgen" team:
- Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR = EBITDA / (Principal Amount + Interest Amount)).
- Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio.
- EBITDA margin.
- Ratio of existing to projected asset value.
- Equity to Asset Ratio (Equity / Assets).
- Maximum project implementation delay term.
- Project owner's capital structure.
- Project location.
- Project type.
- Forecast project duration.
- Market trends.
- Project owner's experience and competencies (including experience in similar types of projects, knowledge of the relevant business sector).
- Project owner's business plan (considering the business plan's reasonableness, SWOT analysis, level of competition in the relevant project market, types and geographical location of potential project owner clients, etc.).
- Project owner's history of fulfilling commitments.
- Planned project profitability.
- Project owner's projected cash flows.
- Security measures provided by (or for the benefit of) the project owner.
- Return on Equity (RoE = (EBIT - Tax - Interest Paid) / (Average Equity)).
- Sales to Total Assets (STA = Sales / (Average Total Assets)).
- Debt Ratio (DR = (Total Debt) / (Total Assets)).
- Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR = EBIT / Interest Expenses).
In more detail – in sections 5.14 and 5.15 of the Rules for Assessing the Credibility of Project Owners.
The principal decision on project financing (offering to investors) is made when our team believes in the developer's business plan and that the developer will be able to fulfill their obligations on time. "Röntgen's" clients are larger development companies that, in most cases, are not developing their first projects and already have a positive credit history.
Currently, the third revision of the risk assessment method is used by "Röntgen." We constantly update the evaluation criteria based on the market situation.
We believe the "Röntgen" platform has earned a reputation in the market as a financial partner focused on conservatism and successful investment project development, which is confirmed by its establishment among the largest crowdfunding operators in the country without competing for the highest returns.
It is precisely because of this business strategy and philosophy that we approach the selection of investment projects, meticulous evaluation, and transparency with extreme responsibility. The majority of our team, including shareholders and management, invest personal funds into many "Röntgen" projects, and in 2024, we replicated our good practices, formed on the platform since 2017, in the established fund management company, primarily intended for professional investors.
Our goal is to be a reliable, everyday financial partner. Therefore, we once again encourage you to evaluate not just the risk class expressed by a single letter, but to familiarize yourself with the detailed descriptions of all risks and opportunities, attached documents, expert opinions, and other information provided in each project. We highly value the direct trust of some investors, but we recommend constantly delving independently, exploring, broadening your horizons, and doing your own "homework" - this fosters the growth of both individual investors and the maturity of the entire market.
Nuances and unexpected aspects of risk classes
The same rating on different platforms does not mean the same degree of risk. As we already mentioned, each platform applies different risk assessment methodologies. At "Röntgen" and elsewhere, we still recommend analysing individual project factors, not the overall score. We also note that a specific platform's risk rating should be evaluated in the context of the projects assessed by that platform; it cannot be compared with the assessment of another platform.
The risk rating does not tell the whole story. A lower risk rating can be determined by a high coefficient of isolated factors. For example, a developer with an excellent reputation, history, location, business plan, and concept would be unlikely to expect a higher overall rating than B or B+ if their project is in the earliest development phases: acquisition, design, lacking building permits, etc. On the other hand, even a project in the earliest stages can sometimes have an A rating due to location, developer reputation, attractive LTV, a large developer equity share, etc.
The risk rating can change. The risks of a project are reassessed at each investment stage. In general, "Röntgen" usually finances projects not with the entire sum at once, but in stages. Subsequent stages are then financed after pre-agreed works to improve asset quality (design, construction, etc.) have been carried out, which reduces the risks of the entire project, increases the value of the collateral, and allows for more borrowing. By improving the quality of the developed object and the collateral, liquidity, construction, or other risks almost always decrease, which positively affects individual evaluation criteria and, often, the final risk rating score. A good example of this is the development of the "Juozapavi?iaus 13" project, which has been financed on the "Röntgen" platform for several years, which had a B- rating in the initial stages, and after reaching 100% completion, it acquired an A risk class.
"Röntgen" Statistics
Over 9 years of operation on the "Röntgen" platform, investors have already financed 113 different projects selected by our team, which consisted of as many as 564 investment stages. The majority, both in units and monetary terms, were projects or their stages that received an A- and B+ rating.
Rating | Amount, EUR | UNITS OF STAGES | UNITS OF PROJECTS |
A+ | 1,817,000 | 5 | 2 |
A | 23,249,300 | 56 | 11 |
A- | 104,663,100 | 235 | 43 |
B+ | 63,243,400 | 167 | 35 |
B | 27,340,900 | 83 | 16 |
B- | 6,633,000 | 16 | 4 |
C+ | 799,900 | 2 | 2 |
*Data as of September 2025 |
As the platform's operations gained momentum, we made a strategic decision not to finance projects with a risk class lower than B-. The two C+ class projects seen in the table were financed at the very beginning of operations, in 2017-2018. They were successfully implemented in their time.
In total, only three projects have been delayed on our platform: two of them were repaid to investors within a few months along with all accrued penalties, and the third is currently undergoing recovery. Both delayed projects were rated A-, and the one currently undergoing recovery is B+.
In summary
Behind the risk class score at "Röntgen" lie detailed factors and processes, and we always present the main criteria that determine it in the project descriptions. The "Röntgen" risk class, in our opinion, allows for a fairly objective comparison of the totality of risks specifically within the context of the "Röntgen" platform, but this does not automatically provide any basis for comparing investment opportunities on other platforms, or, moreover, in other markets or instruments. We believe that the risk class we publish, as a very quick initial impression, is reliable and objective to the extent that investors trust the entire "Röntgen" platform.
What is the risk class and why is it needed?
We feel it is our duty to explain the specifics of the risk classes assigned to investment projects to new members of our community and to remind our existing members.
Simply put, it is like a "grade" that our team assigns to every investment project announced on the platform, having objectively assessed the developer's collateral, business plan, equity share, project development, location, liquidity, and other criteria.
A similar principle is used by major credit rating agencies (e.g., "Fitch" or "Moody's") to examine the ability of states or companies to meet their obligations, but their rating systems are not identical, and similarly sounding ratings do not automatically imply the same risks.
On the "Röntgen" platform, projects with an A+, A, and A- risk rating are considered to be of the lowest risk. These projects are usually characterised by a large developer equity share, a very high collateral value reserve, and other aspects which we discuss below. The "Röntgen" team considers B risk ratings to be average, but only because we have made a strategic decision not to finance projects that score even lower (C and D). In "Röntgen's" assessment, B-group risk ratings are a solid choice from an investor's perspective, but they carry slightly more risk factors than A-group projects.
It is important to emphasize that every platform has different risk assessment policies and methodologies, so, for example, an A or B risk rating granted elsewhere does not automatically mean that "Röntgen" would assign the same score.
In this letter, we invite you to familiarize yourself with "Röntgen's" project rating practices. We hope this will help you make better-informed investment decisions.
Why is a risk rating needed?
A risk rating (or risk class) is an expression of investment project evaluation criteria agreed upon with the Bank of Lithuania (with letters ranging from the highest A+ to the riskiest D-), which is set in a standardized manner for every financed project or its individual stages.
This tool is primarily needed to consistently and objectively assess the risks of projects offered to investors. It is important that the final risk rating is a reflection of a combination of a dozen independently evaluated criteria. In other words, different investment projects may have the same final rating, for example, B+ (i.e., medium risk).
For example, an A- (good) risk rating can be assigned to investment projects where the collateral is either already completed assets (built apartments) or a plot of land with a building permit. At first glance, a plot of land might sound less liquid than a built apartment, but if such a project has a building permit that is difficult and time-consuming to obtain in Vilnius, and an experienced developer has invested a large share of their equity capital into it, such a plot would be highly attractive among other developers in today's market, and the project would therefore have a good risk rating. Conversely, a completed apartment does not automatically guarantee liquidity, even if there are no construction risks remaining in the asset. However, if the property already has pre-sales, meets market prices, and targets its segment, such collateral (apartments) would result in a good risk rating. We note that "Röntgen" evaluates different practices and criteria depending on the development stage: land plot phase, active construction works, completed assets, etc. However, both the highest and medium risk ratings are possible at all stages of development.
Thus, we suggest treating the risk rating as an initial impression of the overall project assessment according to the thorough methodology applied by the "Röntgen" team. At the same time, we emphasize that the risk rating is an individual project evaluation indicator, but it is not an investment recommendation. Therefore, we always invite you to familiarize yourself with the detailed risk and opportunity assessments, facts, and figures provided in each investment opportunity. In every case, we describe the risks in projects in detail and aim to take into account the unique context of the specific project.
Regardless of the "Röntgen" team's assessment, a large part of investors usually have criteria that are personally most important to them or best suited to their investment strategy, most often related to the developer's reliability, project location, lending intensity (collateral value reserve), etc.
We emphasize that although crowdfunding is a regulated activity supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, platforms are given space to assess project risks themselves, but they must take into account all prudential indicators and good practices. Therefore, the assessment criteria and ratings of each platform are not automatically identical.
How does "Röntgen" evaluate projects?
Although all platforms agree on their exact evaluation methodologies (including criterion weight coefficients, etc.) with the Bank of Lithuania, not all market participants disclose them publicly. However, "Röntgen" not only publishes its "Rules for Assessing the Credibility of Project Owners" but also constantly discusses specific evaluation criteria, principles, good and bad practices, risks, and measures to avoid them.
The "Röntgen" risk rating itself is a reflection of a dozen different criteria on a scale from D- (lowest score or highest risk) to A+ (highest score or lowest risk). We currently only finance projects that fall into the A and B assessment categories (from B- to A+). Also, to date, we do not finance projects with an LTV (loan-to-value) ratio greater than 70%. In all cases, "Röntgen" projects are secured by a first mortgage on the real estate.
In general, any business (developer) application does not automatically guarantee inclusion among the projects offered on our platform. The majority of applications received are rejected on the "Röntgen" platform. The developer's path to the platform consists of general information verification, detailed analysis, document collection, risk assessment, and finally, approval by the "Röntgen" credit committee.
During the entire application analysis process, the following criteria are evaluated, which are supported by official documents, public and non-public information, third-party data, objective facts, as well as the expert opinion of the "Röntgen" team:
- Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR = EBITDA / (Principal Amount + Interest Amount)).
- Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio.
- EBITDA margin.
- Ratio of existing to projected asset value.
- Equity to Asset Ratio (Equity / Assets).
- Maximum project implementation delay term.
- Project owner's capital structure.
- Project location.
- Project type.
- Forecast project duration.
- Market trends.
- Project owner's experience and competencies (including experience in similar types of projects, knowledge of the relevant business sector).
- Project owner's business plan (considering the business plan's reasonableness, SWOT analysis, level of competition in the relevant project market, types and geographical location of potential project owner clients, etc.).
- Project owner's history of fulfilling commitments.
- Planned project profitability.
- Project owner's projected cash flows.
- Security measures provided by (or for the benefit of) the project owner.
- Return on Equity (RoE = (EBIT - Tax - Interest Paid) / (Average Equity)).
- Sales to Total Assets (STA = Sales / (Average Total Assets)).
- Debt Ratio (DR = (Total Debt) / (Total Assets)).
- Interest Coverage Ratio (ICR = EBIT / Interest Expenses).
In more detail – in sections 5.14 and 5.15 of the Rules for Assessing the Credibility of Project Owners.
The principal decision on project financing (offering to investors) is made when our team believes in the developer's business plan and that the developer will be able to fulfill their obligations on time. "Röntgen's" clients are larger development companies that, in most cases, are not developing their first projects and already have a positive credit history.
Currently, the third revision of the risk assessment method is used by "Röntgen." We constantly update the evaluation criteria based on the market situation.
We believe the "Röntgen" platform has earned a reputation in the market as a financial partner focused on conservatism and successful investment project development, which is confirmed by its establishment among the largest crowdfunding operators in the country without competing for the highest returns.
It is precisely because of this business strategy and philosophy that we approach the selection of investment projects, meticulous evaluation, and transparency with extreme responsibility. The majority of our team, including shareholders and management, invest personal funds into many "Röntgen" projects, and in 2024, we replicated our good practices, formed on the platform since 2017, in the established fund management company, primarily intended for professional investors.
Our goal is to be a reliable, everyday financial partner. Therefore, we once again encourage you to evaluate not just the risk class expressed by a single letter, but to familiarize yourself with the detailed descriptions of all risks and opportunities, attached documents, expert opinions, and other information provided in each project. We highly value the direct trust of some investors, but we recommend constantly delving independently, exploring, broadening your horizons, and doing your own "homework" - this fosters the growth of both individual investors and the maturity of the entire market.
Nuances and unexpected aspects of risk classes
The same rating on different platforms does not mean the same degree of risk. As we already mentioned, each platform applies different risk assessment methodologies. At "Röntgen" and elsewhere, we still recommend analysing individual project factors, not the overall score. We also note that a specific platform's risk rating should be evaluated in the context of the projects assessed by that platform; it cannot be compared with the assessment of another platform.
The risk rating does not tell the whole story. A lower risk rating can be determined by a high coefficient of isolated factors. For example, a developer with an excellent reputation, history, location, business plan, and concept would be unlikely to expect a higher overall rating than B or B+ if their project is in the earliest development phases: acquisition, design, lacking building permits, etc. On the other hand, even a project in the earliest stages can sometimes have an A rating due to location, developer reputation, attractive LTV, a large developer equity share, etc.
The risk rating can change. The risks of a project are reassessed at each investment stage. In general, "Röntgen" usually finances projects not with the entire sum at once, but in stages. Subsequent stages are then financed after pre-agreed works to improve asset quality (design, construction, etc.) have been carried out, which reduces the risks of the entire project, increases the value of the collateral, and allows for more borrowing. By improving the quality of the developed object and the collateral, liquidity, construction, or other risks almost always decrease, which positively affects individual evaluation criteria and, often, the final risk rating score. A good example of this is the development of the "Juozapavi?iaus 13" project, which has been financed on the "Röntgen" platform for several years, which had a B- rating in the initial stages, and after reaching 100% completion, it acquired an A risk class.
"Röntgen" Statistics
Over 9 years of operation on the "Röntgen" platform, investors have already financed 113 different projects selected by our team, which consisted of as many as 564 investment stages. The majority, both in units and monetary terms, were projects or their stages that received an A- and B+ rating.
Rating | Amount, EUR | UNITS OF STAGES | UNITS OF PROJECTS |
A+ | 1,817,000 | 5 | 2 |
A | 23,249,300 | 56 | 11 |
A- | 104,663,100 | 235 | 43 |
B+ | 63,243,400 | 167 | 35 |
B | 27,340,900 | 83 | 16 |
B- | 6,633,000 | 16 | 4 |
C+ | 799,900 | 2 | 2 |
*Data as of September 2025 |
As the platform's operations gained momentum, we made a strategic decision not to finance projects with a risk class lower than B-. The two C+ class projects seen in the table were financed at the very beginning of operations, in 2017-2018. They were successfully implemented in their time.
In total, only three projects have been delayed on our platform: two of them were repaid to investors within a few months along with all accrued penalties, and the third is currently undergoing recovery. Both delayed projects were rated A-, and the one currently undergoing recovery is B+.
In summary
Behind the risk class score at "Röntgen" lie detailed factors and processes, and we always present the main criteria that determine it in the project descriptions. The "Röntgen" risk class, in our opinion, allows for a fairly objective comparison of the totality of risks specifically within the context of the "Röntgen" platform, but this does not automatically provide any basis for comparing investment opportunities on other platforms, or, moreover, in other markets or instruments. We believe that the risk class we publish, as a very quick initial impression, is reliable and objective to the extent that investors trust the entire "Röntgen" platform.
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"Trečia diena" UAB, which operates the Röntgen platform, is a licensed crowdfunding platform. The platform is governed by the EU Crowdfunding Regulation and is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the law.