Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Desert Commercial Bank
What happened to Desert Commercial Bank?
Desert Commercial Bank in Palm Desert, CA merged into First Foundation Bank of Irvine, CA on Aug 15, 2012. After 1 more change of hands, what was Desert Commercial Bank is today part of Sunflower Bank, National Association (Dallas, 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.
- 2005Desert Commercial Bank opens in Palm Desert, CA
- Aug 15, 2012MERGEDDesert Commercial Bank merged into First Foundation Bank of Irvine, CA.FDIC certificate 57976 ends; its business continues under certificate 58647.
- Apr 1, 2026MERGEDFirst Foundation Bank of Irvine, CA merged into Sunflower Bank, National Association of Dallas, TX.FDIC certificate 58647 ends; its business continues under certificate 4767.
- TodayOPEN
Sunflower Bank, National AssociationMain office Dallas, TX · FDIC certificate 4767 · 102 offices in 10 states on June 30, 2026Every Sunflower Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.sunflowerbank.com
If you still have something from Desert Commercial Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Desert Commercial Bank as lienholder, start with Sunflower Bank, National Association. 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 Sunflower Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Desert Commercial 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 Sunflower Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Desert Commercial 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
2 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 2 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1599 W Main StEl Centro, CA | OpenSunflower Bank, National Association |
| 74850 Us Highway 111Indian Wells, CA | OpenSunflower Bank, National Association |
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 57976 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.