Fideicomiso de Garantía (Guaranty Trust)fee-day-ee-KOH-mee-so deh gah-rahn-TEE-ah
A fideicomiso de garantía is a trust used to secure repayment of a debt, where the debtor transfers property to a trustee to hold as collateral and, on default, the trustee can sell it to satisfy the obligation. Governed by the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito, Articles 395 to 407, it functions as an alternative to a mortgage with faster extrajudicial execution.
By Daniel Ortega · Last reviewed 11 November 2026
How it works
<p>In a fideicomiso de garantía, the borrower (fideicomitente) transfers property—real estate, equipment or other assets—to an authorized institution (fiduciario) to hold in trust as security for a loan or other obligation owed to a lender (fideicomisario). <cite index="10-2">The purpose is to guarantee the creditor the fulfillment of the obligation and preference in payment.</cite> Unlike a mortgage, <cite index="8-3">this structure allows the debtor to keep possession of the collateral, use it and even sell it</cite>, with proceeds flowing back into the trust. <cite index="1-3">If the borrower defaults, the trustee initiates a procedure to execute the collateral and pay the creditor</cite> without requiring a court judgment—a key advantage over traditional mortgage foreclosure. <cite index="14-5">Real estate given in guarantee must be documented in escritura pública.</cite> <cite index="10-2">Only institutions of credit, insurance companies, credit unions, limited-purpose financial companies and certain investment-fund operators may act as fiduciaries</cite> under Article 395. Setup typically costs 0.5 to 2 percent of the loan amount, plus annual trustee fees of 0.20 to 0.75 percent; execution, when needed, takes weeks rather than the years required for judicial mortgage foreclosure. In Quintana Roo, commercial lenders and developers commonly use this structure for hotel-zone construction financing and pre-construction projects where the borrower needs continued operational use of the collateral. Borrowers choose this over a mortgage when they need asset liquidity or faster default resolution; mortgages cost less to set up but take years to foreclose.</p>