Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Michigan › North Bank
What happened to North Bank?
North Bank in Hale, MI (earlier called Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Hale) merged into Independent Bank of Ionia, MI on Aug 12, 1996. After 1 more change of hands, what was North Bank is today part of Independent Bank (Grand Rapids, MI).
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.
- 1952Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Hale opens in Hale, MI
- Oct 31, 1992renamed North Bank
- Aug 12, 1996MERGEDNorth Bank merged into Independent Bank of Ionia, MI.FDIC certificate 17080 ends; its business continues under certificate 8180.
- Sep 14, 2001MERGEDIndependent Bank of Ionia, MI merged into Independent Bank MSB of Grand Rapids, MI.FDIC certificate 8180 ends; its business continues under certificate 27811.
- TodayOPEN
Independent BankMain office Grand Rapids, MI · FDIC certificate 27811 · 59 offices in 1 state on June 30, 2026Every Independent Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.independentbank.com
If you still have something from North Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows North Bank as lienholder, start with Independent Bank. 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 Independent Bank to search for the account under the name North 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 Independent Bank which branch now holds boxes from the North 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. 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
12 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 4 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 17 E M 55Tawas City, MI | OpenThe Huntington National Bank |
| 118 N State StHillman, MI | OpenThe Huntington National Bank |
| 114 N Washington StHale, MI | OpenThe Huntington National Bank |
| 4452 Cr-F41Oscoda, MI | OpenThe Huntington National Bank |
| 205 North Bullock StreetWhittemore, MI | No longer reported |
| 3231 North M-65Hale, MI | No longer reported |
| 508 S BennettRose City, MI | No longer reported |
| 3170 South State RoadGlennie, MI | No longer reported |
| 111 West Michigan AvenueRogers City, MI | No longer reported |
| 2708 U.S. 23Alpena, MI | No longer reported |
| 14963 Hubbard Lake RoadHubbard Lake, MI | No longer reported |
| 1003 North M-65 HighwayLachine, MI | No longer reported |
Banks folded into North Bank
1 bank merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 2 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Presque Isle BankRogers City, MI | Sep 28, 1991 |
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 17080 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.