Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › West Virginia › First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association
What happened to First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association?
First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association in Charleston, WV merged into United National Bank of Parkersburg, WV on Apr 12, 1996. After 1 more change of hands, what was First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association is today part of United Bank (Fairfax, VA).
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.
- 1934First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association opens in Charleston, WV
- Apr 12, 1996MERGEDFirst Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association merged into United National Bank of Parkersburg, WV.FDIC certificate 29280 ends; its business continues under certificate 6784.
- Nov 11, 2017MERGEDUnited National Bank (by then renamed United Bank) of Parkersburg, WV merged into United Bank of Fairfax, VA.FDIC certificate 6784 ends; its business continues under certificate 22858.
- TodayOPEN
United BankMain office Fairfax, VA · FDIC certificate 22858 · 235 offices in 9 states on June 30, 2026Every United Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bankwithunited.com
If you still have something from First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association as lienholder, start with United Bank. 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 United Bank to search for the account under the name First Empire 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 United Bank which branch now holds boxes from the First Empire 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. 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
11 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| Rt 10Aracoma, WV | No longer reported |
| 220 Main StLogan, WV | No longer reported |
| 300 Market StMan, WV | No longer reported |
| Raleigh Mall Shopping CenterBeckley, WV | No longer reported |
| Smoot AveDanville, WV | No longer reported |
| 227 Capitol StreetKanawha, WV | No longer reported |
| Corner Of Virginia and Hale StCharleston, WV | No longer reported |
| 304 Tenth StDunbar, WV | No longer reported |
| 145 W Maple AveFayetteville, WV | No longer reported |
| 154 Fayette StMorgantown, WV | No longer reported |
| 2004 W Webster RdSummersville, WV | No longer reported |
Banks folded into First Empire Federal Savings and Loan Association
3 banks merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| First Federal Savings and Loan AssociationMorgantown, WV | Jul 22, 1991 |
| Fayetteville Federal Savings and Loan AssociationFayetteville, WV | Aug 31, 1983 |
| First Federal Savings and Loan AssociationLogan, WV | Jan 31, 1982 |
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 29280 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.