Bank Forms Construction Loan Unit

Friendly Hills Bank, a community bank based in Whittier, Calif., has announced the establishment of a full-service construction loan department. The department will be headed by Fred O. Cartozian, who has more than 40 years of real estate and construction lending experience, the bank said. "Despite current economic conditions, our focus on relationship banking has provided us with continued opportunities to service strong and experienced developers on sound projects," said Jeffrey K. Ball, the bank's chief executive officer. Friendly Hills can be found on the Web at http://www.friendlyhillsbank.com.