Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Pacific Western Bank
What happened to Pacific Western Bank?
Pacific Western Bank in San Jose, CA (earlier called County Bank of Santa Cruz and 1 other name) merged into Comerica Bank-California of San Jose, CA on Jun 30, 1994. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Pacific Western Bank is today part of Fifth Third Bank, National Association (Cincinnati, OH).
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.
- 1870County Bank of Santa Cruz opens in San Jose, CA
- Jul 1, 1983renamed County Bank and Trust
- laterrenamed Pacific Western Bank
- Jun 30, 1994MERGEDPacific Western Bank merged into Comerica Bank-California of San Jose, CA.FDIC certificate 1544 ends; its business continues under certificate 22894.
- Jun 30, 2003MERGEDComerica Bank-California of San Jose, CA merged into Comerica Bank of Dallas, TX.FDIC certificate 22894 ends; its business continues under certificate 983.
- Feb 1, 2026MERGEDComerica Bank of Dallas, TX merged into Fifth Third Bank, National Association of Cincinnati, OH.FDIC certificate 983 ends; its business continues under certificate 6672.
- TodayOPEN
Fifth Third Bank, National AssociationMain office Cincinnati, OH · FDIC certificate 6672 · 1,513 offices in 15 states on June 30, 2026Every Fifth Third Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.53.com
If you still have something from Pacific Western Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Pacific Western Bank as lienholder, start with Fifth Third 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 Fifth Third Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Pacific Western Bank. 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 Fifth Third Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Pacific Western Bank 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 Pacific Western Bank
3 banks merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 5 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Saratoga Federal Savings and Loan AssociationSan Jose, CA | Jun 1, 1990 |
| Pacific Valley BankSan Jose, CA | May 18, 1987 |
| The National Bank of CarmelCarmel, CA | May 11, 1984 |
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 1544 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.