Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Illinois › Freestar Bank, National Association
What happened to Freestar Bank, National Association?
Freestar Bank, National Association in Pontiac, IL (earlier called The Pontiac National Bank) merged into First Financial Bank, National Association of Terre Haute, IN on Dec 31, 2011. First Financial Bank, National Association 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.
- 1934The Pontiac National Bank opens in Pontiac, IL
- May 24, 2006renamed Freestar Bank, National Association
- Dec 31, 2011MERGEDFreestar Bank, National Association merged into First Financial Bank, National Association of Terre Haute, IN.FDIC certificate 14736 ends; its business continues under certificate 4382.
- TodayOPEN
First Financial Bank, National AssociationMain office Terre Haute, IN · FDIC certificate 4382 · 82 offices in 5 states on June 30, 2026Every First Financial Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.first-online.bank
If you still have something from Freestar Bank, National Association
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Freestar Bank, National Association as lienholder, start with First Financial 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 First Financial Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Freestar Bank, National Association. 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 First Financial Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Freestar Bank, National Association 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
14 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 9 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 223 N Mill StPontiac, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 1218 Towanda AveBloomington, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 1611 S Prospect AveChampaign, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 1 Brickyard Dr Ste 301Bloomington, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 2510 Philo RdUrbana, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 1023 W Reynolds StPontiac, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 1205 S Neil StChampaign, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 202 Eastwood DrMahomet, IL | OpenFirst Financial Bank, National Association |
| 116 S Pine StPiper City, IL | OpenBank of Pontiac |
| 325 Center StreetGridley, IL | No longer reported |
| 1 Mike's WayDowns, IL | No longer reported |
| 521 West Madison StreetPontiac, IL | No longer reported |
| 410 North BroadwayUrbana, IL | No longer reported |
| 631 East Green StreetChampaign, IL | No longer reported |
Banks folded into Freestar Bank, National Association
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Home Guaranty Bank, s.b.Piper City, IL | Jan 1, 1999 |
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 14736 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.