Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Connecticut › Founders Bank
What happened to Founders Bank?
Founders Bank in New Haven, CT failed, and Centerbank of Waterbury, CT took it over on Jul 28, 1995. After 4 more changes of hands, what was Founders Bank is today part of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Sioux Falls, SD).
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.
- 1985Founders Bank opens in New Haven, CT
- Jul 28, 1995FAILEDFounders Bank failed, and Centerbank of Waterbury, CT took it over.FDIC certificate 26187 ends; its business continues under certificate 18262.
- Nov 14, 1996MERGEDCenterbank of Waterbury, CT merged into First Union Bank of Connecticut of Stamford, CT.FDIC certificate 18262 ends; its business continues under certificate 9230.
- Jul 31, 1997MERGEDFirst Union Bank of Connecticut of Stamford, CT merged into First Union National Bank of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 9230 ends; its business continues under certificate 4885.
- Feb 26, 1998MERGEDFirst Union National Bank of Charlotte, NC merged into First Union National Bank of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 4885 ends; its business continues under certificate 33869.
- Mar 20, 2010MERGEDFirst Union National Bank (by then renamed Wachovia Bank, National Association) of Charlotte, NC merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 33869 ends; its business continues under certificate 3511.
- TodayOPEN
Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 3511 · 4,157 offices in 40 states on June 30, 2026Every Wells Fargo Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.wellsfargo.com
If you still have something from Founders Bank
A lien that was never released
Founders Bank failed on Jul 28, 1995. 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, 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, Centerbank). Start with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and ask them to search under the name Founders Bank.
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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. 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
2 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 834 Broad StreetMeriden, CT | No longer reported |
| 27 Elm StreetNew Haven, CT | 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 26187 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.