Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Bank of Canton of California
What happened to Bank of Canton of California?
Bank of Canton of California in San Francisco, CA merged into United Commercial Bank of San Francisco, CA on Oct 29, 2002. After 1 more change of hands, what was Bank of Canton of California is today part of East West Bank (Pasadena, CA).
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.
- 1937Bank of Canton of California opens in San Francisco, CA
- Oct 29, 2002MERGEDBank of Canton of California merged into United Commercial Bank of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 16754 ends; its business continues under certificate 32469.
- Nov 6, 2009FAILEDUnited Commercial Bank of San Francisco, CA failed, and East West Bank of Pasadena, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 32469 ends; its business continues under certificate 31628.
- TodayOPEN
East West BankMain office Pasadena, CA · FDIC certificate 31628 · 97 offices in 7 states on June 30, 2026Every East West Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.eastwestbank.com
If you still have something from Bank of Canton of California
A lien that was never released
United Commercial Bank failed on Nov 6, 2009. For a failed bank placed in FDIC receivership, the FDIC may be able to issue the lien release, if the loan was paid off to the bank before it failed or to the FDIC afterward. The FDIC says that where a failed bank had an acquirer, its records in most cases went to that acquirer. Here the chain from the acquirer leads to East West Bank, which is worth asking too.
Requests go through the FDIC Information and Support Center with the recorded mortgage or title, and proof of payoff. The FDIC says to allow 30 business days once it has every document, and does not take requests by phone or email. Questions: FDIC Resolution Inquiries, 888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central on weekdays.
An old account, passbook or CD
When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, East West Bank). Start with East West Bank, and ask them to search under the name Bank of Canton of California.
For failures since mid-1993 the law sets a clock: insured deposits not claimed within 18 months of the FDIC starting to pay depositors are offered to the state of the depositor's last known address on the bank's records. If the state takes them, the owner has 10 years to claim there before the money returns to the FDIC. Check FDIC unclaimed funds search and that state's unclaimed-property program.
A safe deposit box
The FDIC says that when a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, the branches usually reopen the next business day with box access. Today, ask East West Bank. A box abandoned for years may have been 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. The office list below shows which bank each office reports under now.
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 ▾
Its offices in the FDIC deposit reports
13 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 7 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 900 Webster StOakland, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 555 Montgomery StSan Francisco, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 2533 Noriega StSan Francisco, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 1301 Stockton StSan Francisco, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 743 Washington StSan Francisco, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 1001 Story Rd, Ste 130San Jose, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 5501 Geary BlvdSan Francisco, CA | OpenEast West Bank |
| 17458 Colima Road, Suite 106-109Rowland Heights, CA | No longer reported |
| 1130 S. Baldwin AvenueArcadia, CA | No longer reported |
| 568 West Garvey AvenueMonterey Park, CA | No longer reported |
| 725 North BroadwayLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 47998 Warm Springs BoulevardFremont, CA | No longer reported |
| 14510 Brookhurst AvenueWestminster, CA | No longer reported |
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 16754 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.