Bank BranchesEvery insured bank office · FDIC · 1994–2026

Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Guide

Unclaimed money from a closed or merged bank: where to look

Money left in a bank that later merged or failed is usually in one of three places: the bank that holds the account today, a state unclaimed-property program, or, for failed banks, the FDIC.

The state where the owner last lived

Every state has an unclaimed-property program. An account with no customer activity for a period set by state law, generally three to five years, is turned over to it. Property goes to the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, which may not be the state where the bank was.

It is free to search and to claim through a state's official site. MissingMoney.com, an official site of the state administrators' association (NAUPA), searches participating states at once; check every state the owner lived in. State programs generally hold it for the owner with no deadline.

The FDIC, when the bank failed

When a failed bank is liquidated the FDIC pays out insured deposits, dividends on amounts over the insurance limit, creditor claims and distributions to shareholders. What nobody collected can be searched by name at the FDIC unclaimed funds search.

For unclaimed insured deposits the law sets a clock. If the owner does not claim within 18 months of the FDIC starting to pay depositors, the deposit is offered to the state of the depositor's last known address. If the state takes it, the owner has 10 years to claim it there; after that it returns to the FDIC and the claim is gone. This scheme applies to failures since mid-1993; older failures follow older rules, so call FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662.

The bank that holds it today

If the account was active within the last few years, it is most likely still with the successor bank. Look the old bank up above and ask the bank at the end of the chain.

This guide is drawn from the federal sources below, read on November 15, 2026. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office.

Sources

Related