Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Wisconsin › Fortress Bank
What happened to Fortress Bank?
Fortress Bank in Westby, WI (earlier called Westby-Coon Valley State Bank and 1 other name) merged into Lincoln State Bank of Milwaukee, WI on Nov 12, 2007. After 1 more change of hands, what was Fortress Bank is today part of BMO Bank National Association (Chicago, IL).
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.
- 1905Westby-Coon Valley State Bank opens in Westby, WI
- Oct 7, 1996renamed Fortress Bank of Westby
- Mar 1, 2005renamed Fortress Bank
- Nov 12, 2007MERGEDFortress Bank merged into Lincoln State Bank of Milwaukee, WI.FDIC certificate 9521 ends; its business continues under certificate 13028.
- Sep 6, 2008MERGEDLincoln State Bank of Milwaukee, WI merged into Harris National Association of Chicago, IL.FDIC certificate 13028 ends; its business continues under certificate 16571.
- TodayOPEN
BMO Bank National AssociationMain office Chicago, IL · FDIC certificate 16571 · 988 offices in 23 states on June 30, 2026Every BMO Bank National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bmo.com
If you still have something from Fortress Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Fortress Bank as lienholder, start with BMO 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 BMO Bank National Association to search for the account under the name Fortress 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 BMO Bank National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Fortress 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
9 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 2 Copeland AvenueLA Crosse, WI | No longer reported |
| 1400 Waterloo AvenueWest Salem, WI | No longer reported |
| 102 North Main StreetChaseburg, WI | No longer reported |
| 502 Central AvenueCoon Valley, WI | No longer reported |
| 100 North Main StreetWestby, WI | No longer reported |
| 401 North Main StreetWestby, WI | No longer reported |
| 1415 South Marquette RoadPrairie Du Chien, WI | No longer reported |
| 109 North Wacouta AvenuePrairie Du Chien, WI | No longer reported |
| 9538 East 16 Frontage RoadOnalaska, WI | 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 9521 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.