Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Alabama › Southern National Bank
What happened to Southern National Bank?
Southern National Bank in Birmingham, AL failed, and Exchange National Bank of Birmingham of Birmingham, AL took it over on Jun 15, 1979. After 3 more changes of hands, what was Southern National Bank is today part of Truist Bank (Charlotte, NC).
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.
- 1975Southern National Bank opens in Birmingham, AL
- Jun 15, 1979FAILEDSouthern National Bank failed, and Exchange National Bank of Birmingham of Birmingham, AL took it over.FDIC certificate 22102 ends; its business continues under certificate 22882. The FDIC's failure list dates the failure Jun 14, 1979.
- Mar 1, 1982MERGEDExchange National Bank of Birmingham of Birmingham, AL merged into City National Bank of Birmingham of Birmingham, AL.FDIC certificate 22882 ends; its business continues under certificate 19352.
- Dec 30, 1986MERGEDCity National Bank of Birmingham (by then renamed The Colonial Bank of Alabama) of Birmingham, AL merged into The Colonial Bank of Northwest Alabama of Montgomery, AL.FDIC certificate 19352 ends; its business continues under certificate 9609.
- Aug 14, 2009FAILEDThe Colonial Bank of Northwest Alabama (by then renamed Colonial Bank) of Montgomery, AL failed, and Branch Banking and Trust Company of Charlotte, NC took it over.FDIC certificate 9609 ends; its business continues under certificate 9846.
- TodayOPEN
Truist BankMain office Charlotte, NC · FDIC certificate 9846 · 1,928 offices in 18 states on June 30, 2026Every Truist Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.Truist.com
If you still have something from Southern National Bank
A lien that was never released
Southern National Bank failed on Jun 14, 1979. 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 Truist 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, Exchange National Bank of Birmingham). Start with Truist Bank, and ask them to search under the name Southern National Bank.
This failure is older than the current federal rule on unclaimed deposits (mid-1993), so different rules apply. Search FDIC unclaimed funds search, search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and ask FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 what applies to this institution.
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 Truist 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.
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 ▾
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 22102 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.