Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Michigan › Independent Bank - South Michigan
What happened to Independent Bank - South Michigan?
Independent Bank - South Michigan in East Lansing, MI (earlier called The Peoples Bank of Leslie) merged into Independent Bank of Grand Rapids, MI on Sep 15, 2007. Independent Bank is open today.
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.
- 1886The Peoples Bank of Leslie opens in East Lansing, MI
- Jul 22, 1985renamed Independent Bank - South Michigan
- Sep 15, 2007MERGEDIndependent Bank - South Michigan merged into Independent Bank of Grand Rapids, MI.FDIC certificate 13930 ends; its business continues under certificate 27811.
- TodayOPEN
Independent BankMain office Grand Rapids, MI · FDIC certificate 27811 · 59 offices in 1 state on June 30, 2026Every Independent Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.independentbank.com
If you still have something from Independent Bank - South Michigan
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Independent Bank - South Michigan as lienholder, start with Independent 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 Independent Bank to search for the account under the name Independent Bank - South Michigan. 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 Independent Bank which branch now holds boxes from the Independent Bank - South Michigan 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
23 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 11 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1380 W Lake Lansing RdEast Lansing, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 129 Lansing StCharlotte, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 1601 E Grand River AvePortland, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 144 S Main StLeslie, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 111 East Capital AvenueBellevue, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 11628 Bunkerhill RdPleasant Lake, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 1245 E Grand River RdWilliamston, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 2119 Hamilton RdOkemos, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 1295 Capital Ave NeBattle Creek, MI | OpenThe Huntington National Bank |
| 2461 S Michigan RdEaton Rapids, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 190 W Kipp RdMason, MI | OpenIndependent Bank |
| 9010 East D Ave.Richland, MI | No longer reported |
| 2900 West Rd, Ste 100East Lansing, MI | No longer reported |
| 1 Bedford Rd NBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 2151 W. ColumbiaBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 290 E. Columbia AvenueBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 701 North AvenueBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 1001 East ColumbiaBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 720 Capital Avenue, SouthwestBattle Creek, MI | No longer reported |
| 112 South Main StreetOlivet, MI | No longer reported |
| 320 Vermontville HighwayPotterville, MI | No longer reported |
| 194 Main StVermontville, MI | No longer reported |
| 348 Main StreetRives Junction, MI | No longer reported |
Banks folded into Independent Bank - South Michigan
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Independent Bank - South MichiganOlivet, MI | Jul 22, 1985 |
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 13930 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.