The subsidiary of $794 million-asset Crescent Financial in Raleigh announced Monday it has launched a division to address the financing needs of residential builders and developers in Virginia and the Carolinas.

The company said it has named Bill Bickett to lead the group, which also includes Clark Gregory and Jay Hall. All three men worked at worked together at Royal Bank of Canada‘s U.S. subsidiary before it was bought by PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) in March. Loans to construction firms contributed to the unit’s financial troubles before its takeover by PNC.