Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Connecticut › The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company
What happened to The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company?
The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company in Meriden, CT failed, and New Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company, National Association of Meriden, CT took it over on Jul 7, 1994. After 3 more changes of hands, what was The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company is today part of Santander Bank, N.A. (Wilmington, DE).
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.
- 1889The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company opens in Meriden, CT
- Jul 7, 1994FAILEDThe Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company failed, and New Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company, National Association of Meriden, CT took it over.FDIC certificate 20442 ends; its business continues under certificate 33923.
- Nov 7, 1994RESOLVEDNew Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company, National Association of Meriden, CT was closed in a federal resolution, and its business passed to The People's Savings Bank of New Britain, CT.FDIC certificate 33923 ends; its business continues under certificate 18211.
- Jul 31, 1997MERGEDThe People's Savings Bank (by then renamed Peoples Savings Bank & Trust) of New Britain, CT merged into Webster Bank of Stamford, CT.FDIC certificate 18211 ends; its business continues under certificate 18221.
- Aug 20, 2026MERGEDWebster Bank (by then renamed Webster Bank, National Association) of Stamford, CT merged into Santander Bank, N.A. of Wilmington, DE.FDIC certificate 18221 ends; its business continues under certificate 29950.
- TodayOPEN
Santander Bank, N.A.Main office Wilmington, DE · FDIC certificate 29950 · 368 offices in 9 states on June 30, 2026Every Santander Bank, N.A. office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.santander.com
If you still have something from The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company
A lien that was never released
The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company failed on Jul 7, 1994. 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 Santander Bank, N.A., 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, New Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company, National Association). Start with Santander Bank, N.A., and ask them to search under the name The Meriden Trust and Safe Deposit Company.
For failures since mid-1993 the law sets a clock: insured deposits not claimed within 18 months of the FDIC starting to pay depositors are offered to the state of the depositor's last known address on the bank's records. If the state takes them, the owner has 10 years to claim there before the money returns to the FDIC. Check FDIC unclaimed funds search and that state's unclaimed-property program.
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 Santander Bank, N.A.. 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. 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
1 office filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1295 East Main StreetMeriden, CT | No longer reported |
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 20442 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.