It is a well-known Italian bank, Credito Emiliano (Credem), which has been offering a most surprising service for more than 50 years. This entity offers loans in exchange for a truly surprising guarantee: cheese. But it is not just any cheese but one of the most valued in the world, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The system does not seem to work badly at all since, since they began this practice in 1953, they have been accumulating wheels and wheels of cheese and in their high-security vaults they already have more than 400,000 units of this delicious cheese.
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is one of the most valued in the world, a true delicacy, and these wheels of cheese could reach an approximate value of 190 million euros. But if you are already thinking of stocking up on cheese and approaching the Credem, you should know that it is not that easy since the bank carries out this practice only with local producers. Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be made in four areas of the country and there is an exact recipe that the artisan must follow to the millimeter in order to be considered an authentic cheese with a protected designation of origin.
How do you keep the cheese in the bank?
The Credem bench is perfectly conditioned so that the value of these cheeses, their aroma and flavor mature and improve. In fact, the bank keeps the cheese that local producers deliver and offers them a loan at a very low cost. In two years, the time it takes for the cheese to mature, the credit between the bank and the producer continues to flow so that the producers can continue their production. At the time of repaying the credit, if this were not possible, the cheese would remain as collateral for the bank, which could sell it later.
In Good morning, Javi and Mar! and CHAIN 100 we have José Real as a news man expert in bringing us all the information and, also, discovering information as interesting as this… would you love to go for a walk in the cheese bank? Listen here to everything Jose has told us about these credits!