The Cartel
This is a loose affiliation of traders and businesses officially called the United Free Traders by themselves, but The Cartel by everyone else.
The actual status of the organisation is unclear, and seems to deliberately be kept secret. It is not officially recognised by the Empire in the way that for instance the Technologists or Chirurgeons are. Similarly, it doesn't openly have ties to any of the great Houses.
The Cartel trades throughout most of the Empire, and has ties with many businesses that don't openly claim membership.
Not all of the activites of The Cartel are entirely above board. Rumours abound of widespread smuggling and other less savoury illegal activities. Periodically one of the Houses will crack down on their more obviously illegal activities, but generally there is an uneasy truce where the Houses turn a blind eye to some activities in exchange for more favourable trade terms.
It is unclear just how widespread the illegal the activities of The Cartel are. Many claim that The Cartel is simply working to improve trade, and any illegal operations are just what would be expected from a few individuals in such a large organisation. Others claim that The Cartel is barely more than a large organised crime gang.
Resources
The Cartel has few directly owned resources of its own. However, the constituent parts have huge wealth, and can rival any of the great houses in terms of access to space transportation (though not military might).
Ranks
Ranks within The Cartel are often hidden. Senior members will undoubtedly have their own businesses, or be ranking members of other organisations.
1. Trader
2. Merchant
3. Master Merchant
4. Grand Master Merchant
Leadership and Membership
Although there are defined ranks, the leadership of the Cartel is vague, and not all the senior members are publicly known. Similarly, it is not always clear if a particular merchant is a member of the Cartel. Some will hide their affiliation due to officially owing allegiance to another organisation. This is sufficiently common to lead to paranoia about the Cartel's influence. To further add to the confusion, there have also been cases of people falsely claiming membership (or just implying such) to gain commercial advantage. The Cartel takes a dim view of this, and some people have come to sticky ends because of this.