Guarantee Trust & Merchant Bankers, L.P.
Heritage & History
More than 140 years of merchant-banking stewardship — from the Gulf Coast cotton trade to modern private credit.
Old-world discipline. New-world velocity.
A Legacy Built on Trust
From financing cotton shipments along the Mississippi in 1887 to deploying private credit in modern special situations, Guarantee Trust & Merchant Bankers has maintained an unbroken tradition of disciplined, asset-backed merchant banking.
The Founding in New Orleans
Guarantee Trust & Merchant Bankers traces its origins to 1887, when Gulf Coast trading families formed a merchant-house partnership.
- ●The Delacroix brothers of New Orleans and the Hidalgo family of Galveston partnered to finance cotton shipments and river-commerce factoring
- ●Originally known as Guarantee Trust & Commerce House
- ●Served as factor & produce financier, ship-broker & cargo underwriter
- ●The name 'Guarantee' referred to providing guaranteed payment certificates to shippers
"Discipline. Asset-backing. Partnership. Discretion. Longevity."
— Guiding principles since 1887
Continuous operation since 1887, surviving wars, depressions, and financial crises.
From Gulf Coast trade finance to digital-age private credit and special situations.
Discipline, asset-backing, partnership, discretion, and longevity remain our foundation.