In something a little reminiscent of David Bowie and his royalty stream backed bonds, cheese maker 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’Emilia has sold €6million (AUD$9.3 million) worth of 5% January 2022 bonds which are backed by wheels of Parmesan. The company is based in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region and it is part of the wave of small Italian companies raising money under a government – backed scheme where borrowers issue bonds backed by assets worth 120% of the bonds’ face values. The recent trend has emerged as Italy’s banks struggle with past bad debts and are less willing to take a risk with new loans to businesses.
