MIAMI—Scores of international banks haveopened offices in Miami since the Florida International BankersAssociation was founded in 1979. But with the flood of foreigninvestors acquiring condos, snapping up office buildings anddeveloping multimillion-dollar commercial properties, 2012 has seena flood of recent office lease transactions from the internationalfinance sector.

Banco de Crédito e Inversiones, Chile's fourth-largest bank, isthe latest to expand its office presence in Miami, settling into22,567 square feet at the Southeast Financial Center. The dealdoubles the size of the bank's office footprint in Miami and bringsthe tower's total leases to the international finance sector to124,353 square feet so far this year.

"As the domestic and Latin American economies experiencedstabilization, cautious growth has drawn marquis companies toSoutheast Financial Center's iconic status, complementary tenantbase and hub as the business epicenter of Downtown Miami," saysDonald Cartwright, SVP with Jones Lang LaSalle. "The bankingsector, both domestic and international, is very active in themarket and we expect to see more expansions and relocations."