"I've never been busier," says Proctor Wong, director of Newmark New Spectrum's Bank Services Group, which represents a number of banking concerns. "The banking industry has kept retail real estate afloat single-handedly."

Wong explains that customers want an alternative to banking "behemoths" Chase and Citibank. "People want to bring their check in and get a face-to-face meeting." He adds that there is a variety in the size and location of properties the banks are interested in leasing."They range from Washington Mutual's Occasio centers that can be from 1,500 to 2,000 sf to Commerce Bank which is interested in 8,000 to 9,000 sf." He notes that it's not just a Manhattan trend, that banks are interested in Brooklyn and Queens, which he labeled, "underbanked historically."

Bob Gibson, executive VP at CB Richard Ellis, notes that banks pay between $125 and $175 per sf. "There has been a window of opportunity for mid-size banks. Landlords would love to have a bank making it more difficult for a non-financial institution. The lesser credit tenants just can't get the better spaces."