Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › First Trust Bank
What happened to First Trust Bank?
First Trust Bank in Ontario, CA failed, and First Interstate Bank of California of Los Angeles, CA took it over on Mar 3, 1995. After 1 more change of hands, what was First Trust Bank is today part of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Sioux Falls, SD).
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.
- 1887First Trust Bank opens in Ontario, CA
- Mar 3, 1995FAILEDFirst Trust Bank failed, and First Interstate Bank of California of Los Angeles, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 3480 ends; its business continues under certificate 1226.
- Apr 1, 1996MERGEDFirst Interstate Bank of California of Los Angeles, CA merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 1226 ends; its business continues under certificate 3511.
- TodayOPEN
Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 3511 · 4,157 offices in 40 states on June 30, 2026Every Wells Fargo Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.wellsfargo.com
If you still have something from First Trust Bank
A lien that was never released
First Trust Bank failed on Mar 3, 1995. 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 Wells Fargo Bank, 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, First Interstate Bank of California). Start with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and ask them to search under the name First Trust 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 Wells Fargo Bank, 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
15 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1050 West Sixth StreetCorona, CA | No longer reported |
| 1760 West Florida AvenueHemet, CA | No longer reported |
| 45-900 Fargo StreetIndio, CA | No longer reported |
| 201 North Main StreetLake Elsinore, CA | No longer reported |
| 441 South Palm Canyon DrivePalm Springs, CA | No longer reported |
| 72027 Highway 111Rancho Mirage, CA | No longer reported |
| 2901 Iowa AvenueRiverside, CA | No longer reported |
| 5343 Riverside DriveChino, CA | No longer reported |
| 9555 Foothill BoulevardCucamonga, CA | No longer reported |
| 9700 19th StreetCucamonga, CA | No longer reported |
| 8435 Sierra AvenueFontana, CA | No longer reported |
| 9828 Central AvenueMontclair, CA | No longer reported |
| 437 North Euclid AvenueOntario, CA | No longer reported |
| 8301 Elm Street, Suite 101Rancho Cucamonga, CA | No longer reported |
| 234 East Foothill BoulevardUpland, CA | No longer reported |
Banks folded into First Trust Bank
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Palm Springs National BankPalm Springs, CA | Jan 1, 1974 |
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 3480 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.