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Lawrence (Chip) Pierce

Partner

Mr. Lawrence (Chip) Pierce joined Western Financial Group, LLC at its inception.� Some of his current municipal clients include: Alaska Municipal Bond Bank; New Mexico Finance Authority; Greater Arizona Development Authority; Oregon Bond Bank; and the Idaho Bond Bank.Mr. Pierce has been a financial advisor since 1986.� He serves as advisor to five western state bond banks.� Pooled loan programs such as bond banks are able to provide loans for infrastructure projects to municipalities at rates that many of those communities would not be able to achieve on their own.As advisor to the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank since 1998, Mr. Pierce has assisted several communities in financing infrastructure improvements ranging from school facility enhance-ments to hospitals to local economic initiatives.� To date, he has advised AMBBA on more than $1.4 billion in bond sales.As advisor to the NMFA since its creation in 1992, Mr. Pierce has overseen the issuance of nearly $2.1 billion of NMFA debt.� He was instrumental in the development of the NMFA�s flagship Public Project Revolving fund program in 1994-95 and has advised the Authority in its relationship with the rating agencies.� The PPRF program is currently rated AAA by Standard & Poor�s and Aa1 by Moody�s.The Oregon Bond Bank's first bond issue occurred in February 1991.� The Bond Bank has issued approximately $382 million in 30 separate series of bonds in its twenty-three years of operation, providing financing to more than 100 Oregon municipalities.Hired in 1998, Mr. Pierce assisted the Greater Arizona Development Authority to establish a program structure for that state�s pooled infrastructure loan program.� To date, he has advised GADA in the issuance of approximately $575 million of bonds, the proceeds of which have been loaned to more than fifty Arizona communities.Mr. Pierce was hired in 2002 to assist the creation and implementation of the newly-created Idaho Bond Bank.� That program has a pledge of the state�s sales tax, and consequently maintains a Aa1 rating from Moody�s.� To date, the Idaho Bond Bank has issued over $450 million.Prior to joining Western Financial Group, Mr. Pierce worked at Public Financial Management, a national financial advisory firm.� Mr. Pierce also worked for two years at the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) GovernmentFinanceResearchCenter in Washington, D.C., where he was a project manager.� He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in American Political History from the ColoradoCollege.� Mr. Pierce holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.