Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Minnesota › Minnesota BANKFIRST
What happened to Minnesota BANKFIRST?
Minnesota BANKFIRST in Minneapolis, MN (earlier called Bankfirst) merged into Bankfirst of Sioux Falls, SD on Jun 14, 1999. After 1 more change of hands, what was Minnesota BANKFIRST is today part of Alerus Financial, National Association (Grand Forks, ND).
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.
- 1994Bankfirst opens in Minneapolis, MN
- Aug 1, 1995renamed Minnesota BANKFIRST
- Jun 14, 1999MERGEDMinnesota BANKFIRST merged into Bankfirst of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 33871 ends; its business continues under certificate 34103.
- Jul 17, 2009FAILEDBankfirst of Sioux Falls, SD failed, and Alerus Financial, National Association of Grand Forks, ND took it over.FDIC certificate 34103 ends; its business continues under certificate 3931.
- TodayOPEN
Alerus Financial, National AssociationMain office Grand Forks, ND · FDIC certificate 3931 · 26 offices in 5 states on June 30, 2026Every Alerus Financial, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.alerus.com
If you still have something from Minnesota BANKFIRST
A lien that was never released
Bankfirst failed on Jul 17, 2009. 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 Alerus Financial, National Association, 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, Alerus Financial, National Association). Start with Alerus Financial, National Association, and ask them to search under the name Minnesota BANKFIRST.
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 Alerus Financial, National Association. 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. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 800 Marquette Avenue, Suite 200Minneapolis, MN | No longer reported |
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 33871 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.