Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Illinois › Universal Federal Savings Bank
What happened to Universal Federal Savings Bank?
Universal Federal Savings Bank in Chicago, IL (earlier called Universal Savings and Loan Association) failed, and Chicago Community Bank of Chicago, IL took it over on Jun 28, 2002. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Universal Federal Savings Bank is today part of Byline Bank (Chicago, IL).
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.
- 1923Universal Savings and Loan Association opens in Chicago, IL
- Aug 20, 1992renamed Universal Federal Savings Bank
- Jun 28, 2002FAILEDUniversal Federal Savings Bank failed, and Chicago Community Bank of Chicago, IL took it over.FDIC certificate 29355 ends; its business continues under certificate 14267. The FDIC's failure list dates the failure Jun 27, 2002.
- Mar 30, 2011MERGEDChicago Community Bank of Chicago, IL merged into Metrobank of Berwyn, IL.FDIC certificate 14267 ends; its business continues under certificate 16641.
- Jun 28, 2013MERGEDMetrobank of Berwyn, IL merged into North Community Bank of Chicago, IL.FDIC certificate 16641 ends; its business continues under certificate 20624.
- TodayOPEN
Byline BankMain office Chicago, IL · FDIC certificate 20624 · 48 offices in 2 states on June 30, 2026Every Byline Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bylinebank.com
If you still have something from Universal Federal Savings Bank
A lien that was never released
Universal Federal Savings Bank failed on Jun 27, 2002. 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 Byline Bank, 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, Chicago Community Bank). Start with Byline Bank, and ask them to search under the name Universal Federal Savings 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 Byline Bank. 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
1 office filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 1 is still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1800 S Halsted StChicago, IL | OpenByline Bank |
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 29355 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.