Italian bank vaults may soon be well stocked with expensive wines and dry-cured Prosciutto as collateral on bank loans from crisis-hit producers.
The idea, which was suggested this week by an influential Italian bank chairman who also happens to be a wine producer, was also supported by an Italian minister.
The idea, which was suggested this week by an influential Italian bank chairman who also happens to be a wine producer, was also supported by an Italian minister.
This follows the tradition of Italian banks storing massive wheels of Parmesan cheese as loan collateral.
"We've done it with cheese, why not with prosciutto and good wines like Brunello di Montalcino and chianti classico?" said Gianni Zonin, chairman of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and head of wine producer Zonin.
"This is a great idea, it has my blessing," said Luca Zaia, the Italian agriculture minister.
The Italian bank Credito Emiliano has long stored hundreds of thousands of Parmesan wheels, worth about $423 American dollars each, in warehouses as collateral while they age.
Because the bank can sell the cheese if creditors default, it can afford to offer low interest rates to an industry which is suffering from recession and supermarket discounting.
Legs of cured prosciutto, weighing about 10kg, can sell for hundreds of euros after months of curing in controlled conditions, while bottles of Brunello di Montalcino are regularly snapped up for the same amount.
"We've done it with cheese, why not with prosciutto and good wines like Brunello di Montalcino and chianti classico?" said Gianni Zonin, chairman of the Banca Popolare di Vicenza and head of wine producer Zonin.
"This is a great idea, it has my blessing," said Luca Zaia, the Italian agriculture minister.
The Italian bank Credito Emiliano has long stored hundreds of thousands of Parmesan wheels, worth about $423 American dollars each, in warehouses as collateral while they age.
Because the bank can sell the cheese if creditors default, it can afford to offer low interest rates to an industry which is suffering from recession and supermarket discounting.
Legs of cured prosciutto, weighing about 10kg, can sell for hundreds of euros after months of curing in controlled conditions, while bottles of Brunello di Montalcino are regularly snapped up for the same amount.
