Northcross, Hill & Ach – The Public Sector’s Trusted Financial Advisor

When it comes to public financing, clients need a trustworthy, expert partner who not only knows the financial markets arena inside and out, but also puts the client’s needs first. Northcross, Hill & Ach's (NHA) strategic positioning, built on a base of broad industry experience, enables us to develop and deliver sound, creative solutions in long-term capital and financial planning for cities, school districts, redevelopment agencies, transit agencies, utilities and other public sector and non-profit entities.

Our Principals — Mark Northcross, G. Craig Hill, Andrew Ach and Lisa Liang Siemsen — who collectively bring more than 80 years of experience in public sector financing to the table — understand the importance of achieving public goals and are well versed in the whole gamut of financing options, from general obligation bonds to complex special tax financings.

NHA brings on average 35 to 40 transactions to market per year, and our team — which has completed over $6.7 billion of public sector financings since 2000 – is currently serving as financial advisor to school districts, cities and special districts and major transit agencies. Although we are an active participant in the markets (with both negotiated and competitive sales), and have long-standing relationships with the key trading desks, NHA acts strictly as a financial advisor and project manager. We do not buy or sell bonds, take positions in securities, or cross-sell investment products.

We make sure to vet the best financing alternatives prior to execution, including form of bond sale and credit enhancement strategies as well as the type of instrument.

Cultivating Client Relationships

Rather than harvesting deals, we cultivate long-term relationships with clients by aligning ourselves with our clients’ objectives, financing and funding needs and by taking a big-picture approach. Evaluating financial decisions over a long-term horizon helps develop an efficient financing program as well as minimize the number of times a client has to access capital markets.

Our role also involves:

·       Reviewing the client’s overall financial scenario, including:

o      The current debt burden and its cost

o       Pending and anticipated capital financing needs

o       Available funding sources

·       Outlining all viable options

·       Providing clear, succinct advice on financing

·       Negotiating the best possible business terms

As a testament to the soundness of our approach, we have developed long term relationships with our clients.

The solutions we offer take into account public policy issues as well as voter and taxpayer sentiments and regulatory issues. When appropriate, the solutions tap additional expertise via our extensive network of accounting firms, election bond consultants, legal advisors, and our long-standing relationships with key trading desks and various service providers.

We leverage the diverse expertise of each of our partners and staff to achieve the lowest possible borrowing costs for our clients, which is particularly valuable in volatile financial market conditions and times of economic uncertainty.

Development Finance Service

Since public finance is an integral part of the land development process, we offer our public financing expertise to the land development community as well.  We negotiate public/private partnerships to provide public financing for private development on behalf of developers.  This work includes land-secured financing, revenue rebates and development agreements.