Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Vermont › Sterling Trust Company
What happened to Sterling Trust Company?
Sterling Trust Company in Johnson, VT merged into The Merchants Bank of South Burlington, VT on Apr 1, 1985. After 1 more change of hands, what was Sterling Trust Company is today part of Community Bank, National Association (Canton, NY).
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the bank at the end of the chain today. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1915Sterling Trust Company opens in Johnson, VT
- Apr 1, 1985MERGEDSterling Trust Company merged into The Merchants Bank of South Burlington, VT.FDIC certificate 14154 ends; its business continues under certificate 6268.
- May 12, 2017MERGEDThe Merchants Bank (by then renamed Merchants Bank) of South Burlington, VT merged into Community Bank, National Association of Canton, NY.FDIC certificate 6268 ends; its business continues under certificate 6989.
- TodayOPEN
Community Bank, National AssociationMain office Canton, NY · FDIC certificate 6989 · 210 offices in 6 states on June 30, 2026Every Community Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.cbna.com
If you still have something from Sterling Trust Company
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Sterling Trust Company as lienholder, start with Community Bank, National Association. In a merger the surviving bank takes over the other bank's loans, so it is the bank to ask for a recordable lien release; if the loan was sold along the way, it can tell you to whom.
The FDIC says it cannot process lien releases for banks that merged or were acquired without government assistance, which is what the record shows here.
Record the release with the same county office that recorded the original mortgage or deed of trust.
An old account, passbook or CD
Ask Community Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Sterling Trust Company. A passbook or certificate shows an account existed. It doesn't show the money is still there, and the OCC notes that federal rules require banks to keep most account records for five years.
Accounts nobody touches are eventually turned over to a state. The OCC puts the usual wait at three to five years with no activity, set by each state's law. Search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and any other state they lived in. It is free to search and to claim through a state's own site, and MissingMoney.com, an official site of the state administrators' association, searches most states at once.
A safe deposit box
Ask Community Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Sterling Trust Company office you used. The OCC says a box with no activity for three to five years (the period is set by state statute) is likely treated as dormant, and its contents may be turned over to the state's unclaimed-property program.
Box contents are not covered by FDIC insurance.
Not sure this is your bank?
Many banks shared a name. Match the city and the years above against your paperwork, or search again with the town.
Credit unions were never FDIC-insured and are not in this record; the NCUA credit union lookup covers those. Banks that closed before about 1970 are not in the FDIC's list either.
One caution: banks also sell single branches. If the office you used was sold to a different bank along the way, the account went with the branch, not with this chain.
This page is drawn from FDIC records and federal guidance. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office. More detail: lien releases · old passbooks and CDs · safe deposit boxes · unclaimed money.
Where the guidance comes from ▾
Banks folded into Sterling Trust Company
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| The Enosburg Falls National BankEnosburg Falls, VT | Jan 30, 1976 |
Source: FDIC BankFind institution and history records, read Nov 15, 2026. The FDIC's list covers banks that ended in about 1970 or later. Look up certificate 14154 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.