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A well-established international finance operation focused on infrastructure deals is moving its headquarters to Panama City.

The Inter-American Corporation for Infrastructure Financing (CIFI), which bills itself as “a leader non-bank financial institution dedicated to run projects in Latin America and the Caribbean,” has decided to relocate its headquarters to Panama City from Washington D.C. The objective of the move is to add “leverage” by moving closer to the center of activity, the company said in a press release.

CIFI is not a small player. The company has evaluated more than 600 potential transactions and financed more than 160 deal, representing total investments of more than $1.3 billion dollars, according to a press release.

“Panama is a key financial center in Latin America and the Caribbean which concentrates 90 banks. Our presence here will help strengthen that role, given the importance of our shareholder: commercial banks, private investment funds and multilateral agencies”, said César Cañedo, CEO of CIFI.

One of the main attributes that makes Panama ideal for its headquarters: Panama’s role as a “logistic and strategic hub that can be accessed quickly by the main capitals of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Cañedo said.

CIFI was created in 2001 by Spanish bank Bankia and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Its shareholders represent a diverse group of established international interests, including Caixa Banco Investimento, multilateral institutions such as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and investment funds like the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries.

“Until 2001, there were no entities specializing in financing small and medium infrastructures in the Latin American and Caribbean Region, a need that was not covered by the financial sector,” the company says on its Web site.