Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank, formally Joh. Berenberg, Gossler and Co. KG, is a German private and merchant bank headquartered in Hamburg and is considered the world's oldest merchant bank. It was founded around 1590 by Hans and Paul Berenberg, Flemish Protestant refugees from Antwerp, and its name has remained unchanged since 1791. The family began as cloth merchants, later traded in shipping, whaling, insurance and colonial goods, and turned increasingly to financial services in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today it is active in investment banking, private banking, asset management and corporate banking, with major offices in London, Frankfurt and New York, and part of it is still owned by the Berenberg-Gossler family. It is organised as a limited partnership.