Some Italian banks accept wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as collateral for loans.

Since 1953, the Italian regional bank Credito Emiliano, known as Credem, has accepted Parmigiano-Reggiano as collateral for agricultural loans. This practice specifically supports producers of 'The King of Cheeses,' which is protected by the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Because the cheese must age for 12 to 36 months before it can be sold, farmers often face significant cash flow gaps while their inventory sits in storage.Credem operates two specialized, high-security warehouses in the Emilia-Romagna region that house approximately 440,000 wheels of cheese. These facilities are climate-controlled to ensure the product matures perfectly, maintaining a total value of roughly $130 million at any given time. The bank employs trained tasters and inspectors to verify the quality of the cheese throughout the maturation process, ensuring the collateral maintains its market value.The loan value is typically set at 70% to 80% of the cheese's current market price to protect the bank against price fluctuations. If a farmer defaults, the bank sells the wheels once they reach maturity to recover the debt. This unique financial model is considered extremely low-risk because the product actually appreciates in value as it ages, making it a more stable asset than many traditional forms of collateral.