Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Texas › The First National Bank of Athens
What happened to The First National Bank of Athens?
The First National Bank of Athens in Athens, TX merged into Franklin Bank, S.S.B. of Houston, TX on May 9, 2005. After 1 more change of hands, what was The First National Bank of Athens is today part of Prosperity Bank (El Campo, TX).
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.
- 1890The First National Bank of Athens opens in Athens, TX
- May 9, 2005MERGEDThe First National Bank of Athens merged into Franklin Bank, S.S.B. of Houston, TX.FDIC certificate 3080 ends; its business continues under certificate 26870.
- Nov 7, 2008FAILEDFranklin Bank, S.S.B. of Houston, TX failed, and Prosperity Bank of El Campo, TX took it over.FDIC certificate 26870 ends; its business continues under certificate 16835.
- TodayOPEN
Prosperity BankMain office El Campo, TX · FDIC certificate 16835 · 344 offices in 2 states on June 30, 2026Every Prosperity Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.prosperitybankusa.com
If you still have something from The First National Bank of Athens
A lien that was never released
Franklin Bank, S.S.B. failed on Nov 7, 2008. 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 Prosperity 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, Prosperity Bank). Start with Prosperity Bank, and ask them to search under the name The First National Bank of Athens.
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 Prosperity 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
5 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 4 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 101 N Prairieville StAthens, TX | OpenProsperity Bank |
| 201 N Gun Barrel LnGun Barrel City, TX | OpenProsperity Bank |
| 898 W Dallas StCanton, TX | OpenProsperity Bank |
| 213 Us Highway 175 WEustace, TX | OpenProsperity Bank |
| 508 East Tyler StreetAthens, TX | No longer reported |
Banks folded into The First National Bank of Athens
2 banks merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| First National Bank of Gun Barrel CityGun Barrel City, TX | Sep 30, 1992 |
| First State BankEustace, TX | Jun 8, 1990 |
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 3080 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.