Assured Guaranty Ltd has begun further expansion of its footprint in continental Europe.

The Bermudian-based financial guaranty insurer said it has issued new financial guarantees through its French subsidiary, Assured Guaranty (Europe) SA.

AGE is rated AA+ by Kroll Bond Rating Agency and AA by S&P Global Ratings, both with stable outlooks, the company said.

Additionally, Assured Guaranty’s UK financial guarantee subsidiary has been renamed Assured Guaranty UK Limited from Assured Guaranty (Europe) plc to reflect the shift of European operations to AGE.

AGUK will continue executing Assured Guaranty’s business in the United Kingdom and internationally. It had previously been the entity writing Assured Guaranty’s business in Europe.

AGE was established in Paris in mid-2019 to prepare for the impact of Brexit on AGUK.

While Brexit served as a catalyst, Assured Guaranty said it was already considering having an operational presence in Paris, consistent with the company’s objective to further develop its business in Europe.

Nick Proud, senior managing director for international infrastructure and global structured finance at Assured Guaranty, said: “We were seeing increasing demand for our product in the European market and, regardless of Brexit, believed that establishing a new subsidiary in continental Europe would help us to pursue new business in that market.

“With AGE becoming the primary platform for Assured Guaranty’s European operations, changing the UK subsidiary’s name to Assured Guaranty UK Limited was a natural step to reflect its headquarters in London and to differentiate the companies going forward.”

In 2020, the company said AGUK transferred 79 financial guaranty policies to AGE, representing approximately €6.1 billion of par exposure, which consisted almost exclusively of policies relating to risks in the infrastructure, energy and public debt sectors.

To date, AGE has been active in the primary and secondary markets, the company said. In the primary market, it has closed three new Spanish solar transactions.

Raphaël de Tapol, deputy managing director of AGE, said: “Having already guaranteed almost €1 billion of new bonds and established our base in Paris, we look forward to working with issuers on solutions to reduce their financing costs and to providing high-quality, long-term credit protection for the beneficiaries of our financial guarantees in Europe.

“Our primary focus will continue to be Europe’s infrastructure and structured finance markets. Finding opportunities to use our capabilities in these areas for the benefit of our clients is a key part of Assured Guaranty’s strategy going forward.”

AGE recently moved to new headquarters located at 71 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008, Paris, France.