Cheese banking: fighting the recession
Cheesemakers in Italy are using their Parmesan as collateral for bank loans.
The programme, run by The Magazzini Generali delle Tagliate, is an elegant way for producers to pump cash into their businesses while their cheese wheels are maturing on the shelf of a bank vault - their loan essentially matures along with the cheese.
Under the scheme, a cheesemaker will turn over a percentage of his production to a bank warehouse.
In return, the Parmesan producer is given a certificate which can be presented to the bank to secure a loan.
Terms vary depending on the size of the producer and the amount of cheese deposited.
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An Italian bank is accepting expensive cheese as colletaral for loans.
