Dutch bank plans cheese dividend
Money will be used to purchase land that can be leased by farmers
Amsterdam: ASN Bank NV, SNS Reaal NV's sustainable-banking unit, is considering starting an investment fund designed to create more biodiversity that will pay dividends in cheese.
For every ¤1,000 (Dh5,083) invested, four kilograms of cheese would be paid out annually, Ruud Stevens, a spokesman for ASN, said by tele-phone, confirming a report in Dutch newspaper Trouw.
The cheese will originate from the area where investors are from, he said.
ASN, which managed ¤1.36 billion in assets at the end of June, is mulling the dairy dividend as it's the final product from the use of land, said Stevens, who added ASN Bank currently doesn't offer any similar funds.
The investments will be used to purchase land that can be leased by farmers for one per cent of its market value, Stevens said. The participating farmers will have to follow guidelines that regulate mowing and the use of fertiliser and insecticides to ensure flora and fauna will increase.
The Hague-based ASN Bank's lawyers have to look into how dividend tax would have to be calculated, said Stevens, who declined to comment on the fund's size. The plan is in a ‘very early stage,' he said.
SNS Reaal offers insurance and banking services and is based in the Dutch city of Utrecht.
