Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Washington › The Emerald City Bank
What happened to The Emerald City Bank?
The Emerald City Bank in Seattle, WA failed, and Key Bank of Washington of Tacoma, WA took it over on Jul 2, 1993. After 2 more changes of hands, what was The Emerald City Bank is today part of KeyBank National Association (Cleveland, OH).
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.
- 1988The Emerald City Bank opens in Seattle, WA
- Jul 2, 1993FAILEDThe Emerald City Bank failed, and Key Bank of Washington of Tacoma, WA took it over.FDIC certificate 27268 ends; its business continues under certificate 11979.
- Jun 30, 1997MERGEDKey Bank of Washington (by then renamed KeyBank National Association) of Tacoma, WA merged into KeyBank National Association of Salt Lake City, UT.FDIC certificate 11979 ends; its business continues under certificate 1254.
- Jun 30, 1997MERGEDKeyBank National Association of Salt Lake City, UT merged into KeyBank National Association of Cleveland, OH.FDIC certificate 1254 ends; its business continues under certificate 17534.
- TodayOPEN
KeyBank National AssociationMain office Cleveland, OH · FDIC certificate 17534 · 951 offices in 16 states on June 30, 2026Every KeyBank National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.key.com
If you still have something from The Emerald City Bank
A lien that was never released
The Emerald City Bank failed on Jul 2, 1993. 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 KeyBank 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, Key Bank of Washington). Start with KeyBank National Association, and ask them to search under the name The Emerald City 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 KeyBank 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.
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 ▾
Banks folded into The Emerald City Bank
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| The Liberty Bank of SeattleSeattle, WA | Jun 17, 1988 |
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 27268 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.