Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Wisconsin › Bank of North Lake
What happened to Bank of North Lake?
Bank of North Lake in North Lake, WI merged into Valley Bank of Hartford of Hartford, WI on Aug 30, 1977. After 4 more changes of hands, what was Bank of North Lake is today part of BMO Bank National Association (Chicago, IL).
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.
- 1911Bank of North Lake opens in North Lake, WI
- Aug 30, 1977MERGEDBank of North Lake merged into Valley Bank of Hartford of Hartford, WI.FDIC certificate 2464 ends; its business continues under certificate 2470.
- Oct 10, 1987MERGEDValley Bank of Hartford of Hartford, WI merged into Valley Bank, Southeast of Hartland, WI.FDIC certificate 2470 ends; its business continues under certificate 15700.
- Jun 25, 1993MERGEDValley Bank, Southeast of Hartland, WI merged into Valley Bank of Wauwatosa, WI.FDIC certificate 15700 ends; its business continues under certificate 8711.
- Aug 1, 1994MERGEDValley Bank of Wauwatosa, WI merged into M&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, WI.FDIC certificate 8711 ends; its business continues under certificate 1020.
- Jul 5, 2011MERGEDM&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank of Milwaukee, WI merged into Harris National Association of Chicago, IL.FDIC certificate 1020 ends; its business continues under certificate 16571.
- TodayOPEN
BMO Bank National AssociationMain office Chicago, IL · FDIC certificate 16571 · 988 offices in 23 states on June 30, 2026Every BMO Bank National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bmo.com
If you still have something from Bank of North Lake
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Bank of North Lake as lienholder, start with BMO 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 BMO Bank National Association to search for the account under the name Bank of North Lake. 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 BMO Bank National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Bank of North Lake 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 ▾
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 2464 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.