Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Georgia › First South Bank
What happened to First South Bank?
First South Bank in Ashburn, GA (earlier called The Citizens Bank of Ashburn and 1 other name) merged into First South Bank, National Association of Fort Valley, GA on Jul 1, 1989. After 2 more changes of hands, what was First South Bank is today part of Truist Bank (Charlotte, NC).
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.
- 1905The Citizens Bank of Ashburn opens in Ashburn, GA
- Sep 2, 1986renamed First South Bank of Turner County
- May 31, 1988renamed First South Bank
- Jul 1, 1989MERGEDFirst South Bank merged into First South Bank, National Association of Fort Valley, GA.FDIC certificate 11291 ends; its business continues under certificate 176.
- Jul 1, 1996MERGEDFirst South Bank, National Association of Fort Valley, GA merged into First South Bank, National Association of Macon, GA.FDIC certificate 176 ends; its business continues under certificate 33733.
- Nov 9, 2001MERGEDFirst South Bank, National Association (by then renamed Century South Bank of Central Georgia, National Association) of Macon, GA merged into Branch Banking and Trust Company of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 33733 ends; its business continues under certificate 9846.
- TodayOPEN
Truist BankMain office Charlotte, NC · FDIC certificate 9846 · 1,928 offices in 18 states on June 30, 2026Every Truist Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.Truist.com
If you still have something from First South Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First South Bank as lienholder, start with Truist 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 Truist Bank to search for the account under the name First South 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 Truist Bank which branch now holds boxes from the First South 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.
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 ▾
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 11291 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.