Christopher Taylor wields a lot of knowledge when he handles bond deals for North Carolina's most frequent issuer.
As auditor and adviser to the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, Taylor, a certified public accountant, provides extensive input into the dozens of bond deals that the conduit issuer does each year.
During his 15 years with the commission, Taylor has worked with hospitals, nursing homes, and other types of medical facilities that have asked the state agency to sell tax-exempt bonds on their behalf. Along with the commission's assistant secretary, Robert Fitzgerald, Taylor ensures that deals meet the commission's standards.
"I can say without bragging that over the years I have acquired a level of expertise and knowledge that most health care facilities in this state think is worthwhile," says Taylor, 52. "If something comes up, they'll call me."
Taylor tries to meet borrowers' needs while still looking out for the commission and investors, says Joe Marion, a managing director of public finance at Merrill Lynch & Co. who frequently works with the commission. "Decisions are guided by weighing those three factors," he says.
Working with borrowers and their finance teams is very much a give-and- take for Taylor. He offers advice based on his experience, but he also listens when borrowers and their advisers raise issues he has not encountered before, Marion says.
Taylor works with a plethora of finance professionals, most of whom are chosen by the borrower. The commission only blocks a borrower's choice of advisers if they are not qualified, and that is very rare, according to Taylor.
Borrowers also rarely use outside financial advisers, because that is Taylor's role. To fulfill it, he typically works about 50 hours a week, and relies heavily on his secretary, Debra Price, to track documents for the myriad of bond deals that he handles.
Despite the heavy workload, Taylor says he enjoys his job and tackling the challenges that it often brings, because he does something different each day. "It's not a job where you come in and do the exact same thing you did yesterday."
