Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Massachusetts › First Bank
What happened to First Bank?
First Bank in Chelmsford, MA (earlier called The First Bank and Trust Company) merged into Shawmut Arlington Trust Company of Lawrence, MA on Dec 2, 1988. After 4 more changes of hands, what was First Bank is today part of Bank of America, National Association (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.
- 1958The First Bank and Trust Company opens in Chelmsford, MA
- Jun 18, 1980renamed First Bank
- Dec 2, 1988MERGEDFirst Bank merged into Shawmut Arlington Trust Company of Lawrence, MA.FDIC certificate 17844 ends; its business continues under certificate 11800.
- Sep 7, 1990MERGEDShawmut Arlington Trust Company of Lawrence, MA merged into Shawmut Bank, National Association of Boston, MA.FDIC certificate 11800 ends; its business continues under certificate 19429.
- Apr 1, 1996MERGEDShawmut Bank, National Association (by then renamed Fleet National Bank of Massachusetts) of Boston, MA merged into Fleet National Bank of Providence, RI.FDIC certificate 19429 ends; its business continues under certificate 2499.
- Mar 1, 2000MERGEDFleet National Bank of Providence, RI merged into BankBoston, National Association of Providence, RI.FDIC certificate 2499 ends; its business continues under certificate 2558.
- Jun 13, 2005MERGEDBankBoston, National Association (by then renamed Fleet National Bank) of Providence, RI merged into Bank of America, National Association of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 2558 ends; its business continues under certificate 3510.
- TodayOPEN
Bank of America, National AssociationMain office Charlotte, NC · FDIC certificate 3510 · 3,598 offices in 39 states on June 30, 2026Every Bank of America, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bankofamerica.com
If you still have something from First Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First Bank as lienholder, start with Bank of America, 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 Bank of America, National Association to search for the account under the name First 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 Bank of America, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the First 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 17844 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.