Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Louisiana › Meritrust Federal Savings Bank
What happened to Meritrust Federal Savings Bank?
Meritrust Federal Savings Bank in Thibodaux, LA (earlier called Atchafalaya Savings and Loan Association and 1 other name) merged into Whitney National Bank of New Orleans, LA on Apr 24, 1998. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Meritrust Federal Savings Bank is today part of Hancock Whitney Bank (Gulfport, MS).
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.
- 1963Atchafalaya Savings and Loan Association opens in Thibodaux, LA
- Jul 31, 1987renamed Atchafalaya Federal Savings Bank
- Sep 30, 1993renamed Meritrust Federal Savings Bank
- Apr 24, 1998MERGEDMeritrust Federal Savings Bank merged into Whitney National Bank of New Orleans, LA.FDIC certificate 31395 ends; its business continues under certificate 18538.
- Jun 6, 2011MERGEDWhitney National Bank of New Orleans, LA merged into Whitney Bank of New Orleans, LA.FDIC certificate 18538 ends; its business continues under certificate 33029.
- Mar 31, 2014MERGEDWhitney Bank of New Orleans, LA merged into Hancock Bank of Gulfport, MS.FDIC certificate 33029 ends; its business continues under certificate 12441.
- TodayOPEN
Hancock Whitney BankMain office Gulfport, MS · FDIC certificate 12441 · 186 offices in 5 states on June 30, 2026Every Hancock Whitney Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.hancockwhitney.com
If you still have something from Meritrust Federal Savings Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Meritrust Federal Savings Bank as lienholder, start with Hancock Whitney 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 Hancock Whitney Bank to search for the account under the name Meritrust Federal Savings Bank. 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 Hancock Whitney Bank which branch now holds boxes from the Meritrust Federal Savings Bank 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
8 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 2 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 716 N Canal BlvdThibodaux, LA | OpenHancock Whitney Bank |
| 16176 West Main StreetGalliano, LA | OpenHancock Whitney Bank |
| 1340 West Tunnel Blvd. Suite 100Houma, LA | No longer reported |
| 2617 West Park AvenueHouma, LA | No longer reported |
| 12153 Highway 90Luling, LA | No longer reported |
| 2811 Highway 20 WestVacherie, LA | No longer reported |
| 2811 Hwy. 20Vacherie, LA | No longer reported |
| 4550 La Highway 1Raceland, LA | No longer reported |
Banks folded into Meritrust Federal Savings Bank
1 bank merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 2 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| First Federal Savings and Loan AssociationThibodaux, LA | Sep 30, 1993 |
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 31395 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.