Gráinne
Callanan
Partner
Gráinne Callanan is head of the Matheson Cork office and is a partner in the Financial Institutions Group.
She specialises in corporate and regulatory insurance matters with almost 20 years of experience dedicated to the insurance sector.
Gráinne advises a wide range of leading domestic and international financial institutions doing business in and from Ireland including life and non-life (re)insurance companies, captive insurers and intermediaries on corporate transactions, regulatory and compliance and corporate governance.
Gráinne has extensive expertise in the areas of new authorisations, having advised a large number of clients ((re)insurers and intermediaries) through the establishment and authorisation process.
Advising clients on portfolio transfers (life, non-life and reinsurance), cross-border mergers, corporate restructurings, complex regulatory matters, reinsurance transactions, pensions buy ins and buy outs, product development, distribution models and outsourcing arrangements form a core part of her practice.
Gráinne also regularly advises on structured finance and capital markets transactions related to the insurance sector. She also has significant experience in the area of health insurance.
She has advised on a wide range of innovative transactions in the insurance market and has gained a strong reputation in the market for her ability to navigate the most complex of transactions and regulatory issues.
Gráinne is on the Advisory Board of the IBA Insurance Committee and is formerly the Co-Chair of the Committee.
Experience and Education
Gráinne has experience advising:
- Octium Group on the cross border merger by acquisition and simultaneous portfolio transfer of Octium Assurance AG, a private limited company based in Liechtenstein, into Octium Life DAC, an Irish successor company, regulated as a life insurance undertaking by the Central Bank of Ireland;
- ALD Group on the Irish aspects of its acquisition of Leaseplan and the subsequent merger of ALD Re DAC (a reinsurer) and Euro Insurances Ireland DAC (a non-life insurer) together with all related corporate and regulatory requirements;
- Generali on the acquisition and restructuring of the Liberty Seguros business;
- Utmost Group on a significant number of portfolio transfer arrangements including the acquisition of books from Quilter, AXA Life Europe, Athora together with a number of significant internal consolidating portfolio transfers;
- Advised Credit Agricole, La Bank Postale, Utmost and others on regulatory change of control applications;
- AXIS Specialty Europe SE on the cross-border merger by absorption with a Belgian authorised non-life insurance undertaking;
- Howden on a significant number of acquisitions in the Irish broker market.
- Partner Re on its acquisition of a book of insurance business from Compre Group;
- A leading domestic bank on all of its significant distribution arrangements in the Irish market.
- Multiple insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries on their Irish establishment and authorisation projects;
- Various significant reinsurance transactions;
- A number of clients on the Irish aspects of pensions buy ins and buy outs; and
- Central Bank mandated risk and governance and remediation projects.
- University College Cork (BCL, Law and German)
- University College Cork (LLM)
- IPMA Certified Project Management Associate (Diploma in Project Management)
- Law Society of Ireland
- Gráinne is on the Advisory Board of the IBA Insurance Committee and is formerly Co-Chair of the Committee.
- She regularly speaks at industry events and conferences in both Ireland and abroad is a member of the Cork Financial Services Forum.
