The story takes place, inevitably, in Italy. On Monday, Deutsche Bank agreed to lend 27.5 million euros to Ambrosi, a cheese producer from Lombardy, by accepting as a bank guarantee a stock of 125,000 Parmesan and Grana Padano cheeses. This is a first in the history of the German bank. On the other hand, such loan guarantees have been in place for a long time on the other side of the Alps.
«As the largest foreign bank in Italy, we have close relationships with many export companies in the country, explained a spokesperson for Deutsche Bank whose remarks were reported by the daily Handelsblatt . We want to help our customers to secure and develop their business, especially during the current coronavirus crisis. ”
90 million euros of cheese
Deutsche Bank has therefore granted a loan of almost 30 million euros which should allow Giuseppe Ambrosi, the director of the cheese group, to build a new maturation plant for the production of Parmesan and Grana Padano. It is no coincidence that the bank accepted these cooked Italian pressed cheeses as collateral. Indeed, according to the Handelsblatt, they are valued between 550 and 740 euros per unit, for a total stock of 70 to 90 million euros. In addition, recalls the German daily, Parmesan is a standardized food, easy to sell and its conservation is long.
Certainly, for Deutsche Bank such a guarantee is a first. But for others, it’s a business model. Indeed, the Italian regional bank Credito Emiliano has followed a similar system since 1953. In addition to the bank guarantee, Credito Emiliano even takes care of the storage and control of the refining process on behalf of its clients. The Parmesans which serve as collateral thus age in two of the bank’s warehouses.
https://www.en24news.com/2020/09/deutsche-bank-to-guarantee-loan-with-parmesan.html
