Howden has announced the acquisition of Granular Investments Limited and Granular Investments EU SAS, a move that expands its credit risk transfer capabilities across Europe and broadens its range of products for large financial institutions.
Granular Investments, founded in 2019 by Giuliano Giovannetti and Richard Sullivan, operates as an intermediary and advisor specialising in credit risk transfer and capital relief. The firm focuses on synthetic securitisation and single-name credit risk solutions for banks and insurers.
Synthetic securitisation, the area in which Granular Investments has established its expertise, enables banks to transfer credit risk to third parties without removing the underlying assets from their balance sheets.
Through derivatives or guarantees, banks can achieve regulatory capital relief, freeing up capital under the European Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) framework.
The transaction will strengthen Howden’s position in the European credit risk transfer market, extending services to banks, insurers, and related sectors. Giovannetti and Sullivan will integrate with Howden Capital, Advisory, and Placement’s (CAP) global credit and political risk team, contributing to the firm’s strategy of enhancing expertise in specialised financial solutions.
Howden’s CAP division consolidates expertise across M&A, global credit solutions, and structured finance. The addition of Granular Investments is expected to expand Howden CAP’s capacity to deliver bespoke credit risk transfer solutions tailored to the specific needs of financial institutions.
Alessandro Minucci (pictured above), head of financial institutions at Howden Europe, said the addition of Giovannetti and Sullivan would support efforts to broaden insurer participation in the credit risk-sharing market.
“Their decades of experience working with banks and insurers as peers, combined with their deep regulatory expertise and strong track record, will be instrumental in broadening insurer participation in the credit risk-sharing market alongside banks and funds - to the benefit of the real economy,” Minucci said.
The acquisition comes amid stable market conditions in the credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) sector. According to Howden’s 2025 report, the global CPRI market has maintained a premium base of US$49 billion despite broader economic uncertainties.
Expanding capabilities in credit risk transfer aligns with Howden’s strategy to increase its presence in this market, leveraging growth opportunities in the provision of risk mitigation solutions to financial institutions.
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