Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › District of Columbia › Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association
What happened to Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association?
Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association in Washington, DC merged into Capital City Federal Savings and Loan Association of Washington, DC on Dec 31, 1980. After 5 more changes of hands, what was Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association 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.
- 1906Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association opens in Washington, DC
- Dec 31, 1980MERGEDNorthwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association merged into Capital City Federal Savings and Loan Association of Washington, DC.FDIC certificate 28475 ends; its business continues under certificate 27832.
- May 31, 1985ASSISTED MERGERCapital City Federal Savings and Loan Association of Washington, DC was merged into Meritor Savings Bank, F.A. of Winter Haven, FL with federal assistance.FDIC certificate 27832 ends; its business continues under certificate 30728.
- Jul 22, 1993MERGEDMeritor Savings Bank, F.A. of Winter Haven, FL merged into First Union National Bank of Florida of Jacksonville, FL.FDIC certificate 30728 ends; its business continues under certificate 24398.
- Jun 5, 1997MERGEDFirst Union National Bank of Florida of Jacksonville, FL merged into First Union National Bank of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 24398 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 Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association as lienholder, start with Wells Fargo 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.
Capital City Federal Savings and Loan Association was merged with federal assistance on May 31, 1985. The FDIC's limit on lien releases is for mergers without government assistance, so FDIC Resolution Inquiries (888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central, weekdays) can tell you whether it holds anything for this bank.
Record the release with the same county office that recorded the original mortgage or deed of trust.
An old account, passbook or CD
Ask Wells Fargo Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association. 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Northwestern Federal Savings and Loan Association 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 28475 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.