Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Minnesota › Biwabik State Bank
What happened to Biwabik State Bank?
Biwabik State Bank in Biwabik, MN failed, and The First National Bank of Keewatin of Albert Lea, MN took it over on Aug 26, 1988. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Biwabik State Bank is today part of Deerwood Bank (Waite Park, MN).
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.
- 1953Biwabik State Bank opens in Biwabik, MN
- Aug 26, 1988FAILEDBiwabik State Bank failed, and The First National Bank of Keewatin of Albert Lea, MN took it over.FDIC certificate 17163 ends; its business continues under certificate 5174.
- Nov 22, 2004MERGEDThe First National Bank of Keewatin (by then renamed Americana National Bank) of Albert Lea, MN merged into American Bank of St. Paul of Saint Paul, MN.FDIC certificate 5174 ends; its business continues under certificate 20843.
- Jun 15, 2015MERGEDAmerican Bank of St. Paul of Saint Paul, MN merged into Deerwood Bank of Waite Park, MN.FDIC certificate 20843 ends; its business continues under certificate 5123.
- TodayOPEN
Deerwood BankMain office Waite Park, MN · FDIC certificate 5123 · 14 offices in 1 state on June 30, 2026Every Deerwood Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: deerwoodbank.com
If you still have something from Biwabik State Bank
A lien that was never released
Biwabik State Bank failed on Aug 26, 1988. For a failed bank placed in FDIC receivership, the FDIC may be able to issue the lien release, if the loan was paid off to the bank before it failed or to the FDIC afterward. The FDIC says that where a failed bank had an acquirer, its records in most cases went to that acquirer. Here the chain from the acquirer leads to Deerwood Bank, which is worth asking too.
Requests go through the FDIC Information and Support Center with the recorded mortgage or title, and proof of payoff. The FDIC says to allow 30 business days once it has every document, and does not take requests by phone or email. Questions: FDIC Resolution Inquiries, 888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central on weekdays.
An old account, passbook or CD
When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, The First National Bank of Keewatin). Start with Deerwood Bank, and ask them to search under the name Biwabik State Bank.
This failure is older than the current federal rule on unclaimed deposits (mid-1993), so different rules apply. Search FDIC unclaimed funds search, search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and ask FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 what applies to this institution.
A safe deposit box
The FDIC says that when a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, the branches usually reopen the next business day with box access. Today, ask Deerwood Bank. A box abandoned for years may have been 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 17163 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.