Last month, First International opened a loan office at 1001 Brickell Bay Drive in Miami. That office is the 14th in the country for First International, which over the past decade has become a specialist in trade and business lending along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

James Fortsch, the banks executive vice president for international banking in Hartford, says First International's Miami office will make loans to small and midsized manufacturers and industrial companies around Florida, including loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

First International also will make loans to South Florida businesses for the purchase of materials used in making export products. That business line will include loans that are guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank- of the United States.

Fortsch says First International's target market is companies with less than $30 million in annual sales.

For the past several years, First International has ranked in the top 10 nationally among lenders in the SBA and Ex-Im programs. Through agents in four Latin American countries, First International makes loans to Latin American businesses that export their products to the U.S.

First International is a relatively small bank, with about S330 million in assets. But it has used its trade and small business focus to build a highly profitable lending operation in major cities including Boston, Cleveland and Detroit. Last month, the bank opened a lending office in Los Angeles.

First International's Miami office will not be able to take deposits. The bank doesn't plan to open full –service branches in Florida, Fortsch said. First International's only deposit-taking office is in Hartford.

First International's Brazilian agent, Net Plan Corporate Finance, has an office in downtown Miami. The bank also does considerable business with Panalpina World Transport, a freight forwarder and logistics company that has an office near Miami International Airport.

So, Fortsch says, Miami was a natural choice for First International's latest expansion.

First International Bank is a subsidiary of First International Bancorp (Nasdaq: FNCE).

How profitable can trade and small business lending be for a specialist?