What do pigs and lingerie have in common? Stop picturing a pig in lingerie because I’m definitely not going there! Well, they are both used as collateral at Russian banks! On September 15, guest contributor W.L. wrote an intriguing article about Parmesan cheese used as collateral in Italy. Although plausible, it was comprehensible. But pigs? Lingerie? That is way above and beyond!

Desperate times call for desperate measures and it seems cash-strapped Russians owing money to state-owned banks are putting forward literally anything of value to stop banks from calling and keep their life-lines on. You may think well this may be an incident or two, but it isn’t. According to Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev of OAO National Reserve Bank, loans secured with “strange assets” make up 5 percent of his bank’s total portfolio and as much as 20 percent of loan books at the country’s biggest state banks. Again: 20%! Lets hope oil prices stay at these high levels for the sake of GCC prosperity and most importantly to stop Russians from going nude!