Gary D. Bunton, formerly a managing director at Merrill Lynch & Co., has joined the public finance department of CS First Boston, the firm is scheduled to announce this morning.
Bunton will continue to focus on health-care financings, and will be named a managing director.
For the past 13 years, Bunton, 40, worked at Merrill Lynch as an investment banker advising on health-care and other public sector clients. He was elevated to managing director in 1990.
Before joining Merrill Lynch, Bunton worked for two years with Underwood, Neuhaus & Co., and also spent two years with Bache, Halsey, Stuart, Shields & Co.
"There are a lot of changes on the horizon for the health-care industry," Bunton said in an interview yesterday. "I've been involved in the financing of health care for over 16 years, and we could see a great many changes in the next year or two."
As President Bill Clinton's health-care plan develops, Bunton said, there will be more and more need for creative financing plans. "Traditionally, the tax-exempt debt market has been the real vehicle of choice for these financings," Bunton said. "Now, with the possibility of more joint ventures and other projects, we will need to use more equity and taxable financings."
He said that over the next few years it will be as important for hospitals and other health-care facilities to have management and strategic planning advice as it will be for them to have financing help.
"Gary will contribute significantly to our already thriving health-care banking activities," said L. Patrick Oden, managing director and head of the firm's health-care banking group. "He's well known and well respected for his creativity in finance and understanding of the marketplace."
So far in 1993, CS First Boston has underwritten over $1.8 billion in health-care related debt. That gives the firm second place, with first place going to Merrill Lynch, senior manager for $2.4 billion of debt, according to Securities Data Co.
In 1992, First Boston was ranked fourth and managed $1.5 billion in health-care related debt.
