Unlocking Your Wealth: Collateralizing Art, Yachts and . . . Cheese?

Updated October 2026

In Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy, a bank called Credito Emiliano (Credem) has accepted wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano as collateral since 1953.

The arrangement solves a cash problem. Parmigiano Reggiano has to age at least 12 months, and much of it ages two or three years. The producer pays for milk and labor now and sells the cheese much later. So the producer pledges young wheels to the bank and receives 60 to 80 percent of their value up front.

The bank’s subsidiary, Magazzini Generali delle Tagliate, ages pledged cheese in its own warehouses, which hold more than 500,000 wheels worth more than 300 million euros. If a loan is not repaid, the bank can sell the cheese.

The bank also has to keep its collateral in good condition. Staff walk the aisles every day, checking the wheels for cracks, swelling and moisture. During the peak heat waves of summer 2026, the director of the warehouses told Reuters that daily energy use rose about 30 percent.

What a Lender Needs

A lender will take almost anything as collateral if it can confirm who owns it, value it, keep it safe, insure it and sell it. Significant art and yachts meet those tests, and each comes with its own paperwork.

Art

Private banks and specialty lenders lend against significant art, typically 50 percent of its appraised value, though terms vary. Private banks usually make recourse loans to clients with other assets, so the bank can look beyond the art if it has to. Specialty lenders also make nonrecourse loans, which rely on the art alone and cost more. Some auction houses lend too, usually against a commitment to consign the work for sale.

In the United States, you sign a security agreement, and the lender usually files a public financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code, so it does not need to hold the art. The work can often stay on your walls. Before it funds, a lender will usually ask for:

• an appraisal from the last six to twelve months
• proof that you own the work, and its provenance
• insurance that names the lender
• a condition report and the work’s location
• financial statements, for a recourse loan

The loan agreement will usually restrict selling, moving or lending out the work until the loan is repaid. A pledged work can sometimes still be rented out, if the lender agrees in writing. More on that in Make Your Art Pay.

Art loans stall for ordinary reasons. The work belongs to two siblings and nobody documented their shares. The work is still on consignment at a gallery. The work is in storage abroad, and the lender only lends against works in the United States. The last appraisal is three years old. Each of these is easier to fix before you apply.

Yachts

For a yacht documented with the U.S. Coast Guard, the lender usually takes a preferred ship mortgage, recorded with the Coast Guard. For a boat titled in Florida, the lender’s lien is filed with the state and shown on the certificate of title. A yacht under a foreign flag is mortgaged under the rules of its registry. Before lending, the lender will want to see how the flag, the company that owns the yacht and its use in U.S. waters fit together.

Beyond Art and Yachts

Novela Law also handles loans against other collectibles, including jewelry, watches and handbags, as well as commercial loans secured by more traditional assets, such as inventory, equipment and accounts receivable. Some collateral is less traditional, such as foreign receivables supported by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, or inventory still on a slow boat from China.

If you are thinking about borrowing against a collection, a yacht or a business, call me before you call the lender.