Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Illinois › UnibancTrust/Hawthorne
What happened to UnibancTrust/Hawthorne?
UnibancTrust/Hawthorne in Wheaton, IL (earlier called Hawthorne Bank of Wheaton) merged into Old Kent Bank of Wheaton, IL on Aug 1, 1989. After 4 more changes of hands, what was UnibancTrust/Hawthorne is today part of Fifth Third Bank, National Association (Cincinnati, OH).
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.
- 1962Hawthorne Bank of Wheaton opens in Wheaton, IL
- Mar 12, 1987renamed UnibancTrust/Hawthorne
- Aug 1, 1989MERGEDUnibancTrust/Hawthorne merged into Old Kent Bank of Wheaton, IL.FDIC certificate 18469 ends; its business continues under certificate 18061.
- Oct 31, 1990MERGEDOld Kent Bank of Wheaton, IL merged into Old Kent Bank, National Association of Elmhurst, IL.FDIC certificate 18061 ends; its business continues under certificate 12816.
- Feb 1, 1992MERGEDOld Kent Bank, National Association of Elmhurst, IL merged into Old Kent Bank-Chicago of Elmhurst, IL.FDIC certificate 12816 ends; its business continues under certificate 915.
- Jul 1, 1997MERGEDOld Kent Bank-Chicago (by then renamed Old Kent Bank) of Elmhurst, IL merged into Old Kent Bank of Grand Rapids, MI.FDIC certificate 915 ends; its business continues under certificate 993.
- Sep 30, 2009MERGEDOld Kent Bank (by then renamed Fifth Third Bank) of Grand Rapids, MI merged into Fifth Third Bank of Cincinnati, OH.FDIC certificate 993 ends; its business continues under certificate 6672.
- TodayOPEN
Fifth Third Bank, National AssociationMain office Cincinnati, OH · FDIC certificate 6672 · 1,513 offices in 15 states on June 30, 2026Every Fifth Third Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.53.com
If you still have something from UnibancTrust/Hawthorne
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows UnibancTrust/Hawthorne as lienholder, start with Fifth Third 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 Fifth Third Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name UnibancTrust/Hawthorne. 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 Fifth Third Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the UnibancTrust/Hawthorne 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 18469 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.