Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank
What happened to Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank?
Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank in San Diego, CA (earlier called Great American Federal Savings Bank and 1 other name) failed, and Great American Federal Savings Association of San Diego, CA took it over on Oct 25, 1991. The chain runs 1 step further and ends with no operating bank.
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the last entry on record. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1885Great American Federal Savings Bank opens in San Diego, CA
- Oct 15, 1986renamed Great American First Savings Bank
- Jun 27, 1990renamed Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank
- Oct 25, 1991FAILEDGreat American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank failed, and Great American Federal Savings Association of San Diego, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 28041 ends; its business continues under certificate 33520. The FDIC's failure list dates the failure Aug 9, 1991.
- May 13, 1994FAILEDGreat American Federal Savings Association of San Diego, CA failed and was closed. The FDIC record shows no successor.FDIC certificate 33520 ends.
- NO SUCCESSOR BANK
The FDIC record ends here. No operating bank carries this charter today.
If you still have something from Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank
A lien that was never released
Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank failed on Aug 9, 1991, handled by the Resolution Trust Corporation, the agency that closed failed savings institutions from 1989 to 1995. The FDIC's lien-release page covers failed banks and savings and loans placed in FDIC receivership; it does not say how releases work for resolutions this old.
Call FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 (8am–4pm Central, weekdays) and ask whether the FDIC holds this institution's receivership. The FDIC's own instructions are at FDIC, Obtaining a Lien Release.
An old account, passbook or CD
When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, Great American Federal Savings Association).
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. 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.
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 Great American Bank, a Federal Savings Bank
13 banks merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 19 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Great American First Savings Bank, FSBTucson, AZ | Jun 30, 1990 |
| Los Angeles Federal Savings BankLos Angeles, CA | May 31, 1986 |
| First Federal Savings and Loan Association of ReddingRedding, CA | Mar 20, 1986 |
| Hacienda Federal Savings and Loan AssociationOxnard, CA | Mar 20, 1986 |
| San Joaquin First Federal Savings and Loan AssociationStockton, CA | Jul 31, 1982 |
| Sonoma County Savings and Loan AssociationSanta R0sa, CA | Jul 31, 1982 |
| Laguna Federal Savings and Loan AssociationLaguna Beach, CA | Jun 30, 1982 |
| Peoples Federal Savings and Loan AssociationFountain Valley, CA | Jun 30, 1982 |
| First Federal Savings and Loan AssociationSouth Pasadena, CA | May 31, 1982 |
| Riverside Savings and Loan AssociationRiverside, CA | Apr 30, 1982 |
| Inglewood Federal Savings and Loan AssociationInglewood, CA | Feb 28, 1982 |
| Kaweah Savings and Loan AssociationVisalia, CA | Oct 31, 1981 |
| Pacifica Federal Savings and Loan AssociationFresno, CA | May 31, 1977 |
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 28041 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.