Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › United California Bank
What happened to United California Bank?
United California Bank in Los Angeles, CA (earlier called The Sanwa Bank of California and 2 other names) merged into Bank of the West of San Francisco, CA on Apr 1, 2002. After 1 more change of hands, what was United California Bank is today part of BMO Bank National Association (Chicago, IL).
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.
- 1972The Sanwa Bank of California opens in Los Angeles, CA
- Jan 31, 1978renamed Golden State Sanwa Bank
- Sep 2, 1986renamed Sanwa Bank California
- Jul 2, 2001renamed United California Bank
- Apr 1, 2002MERGEDUnited California Bank merged into Bank of the West of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 20589 ends; its business continues under certificate 3514.
- Feb 2, 2023MERGEDBank of the West of San Francisco, CA merged into BMO Harris Bank National Association of Chicago, IL.FDIC certificate 3514 ends; its business continues under certificate 16571.
- TodayOPEN
BMO Bank National AssociationMain office Chicago, IL · FDIC certificate 16571 · 988 offices in 23 states on June 30, 2026Every BMO Bank National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bmo.com
If you still have something from United California Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows United California Bank as lienholder, start with BMO 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 BMO Bank National Association to search for the account under the name United California 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 BMO Bank National Association which branch now holds boxes from the United California 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. 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
116 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 77 are still open as of June 30, 2026. Showing 40.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 140 Sunset DrSan Ramon, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 915 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 100Los Angeles, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 4400 Macarthur Blvd, Ste 100Newport Beach, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 701 B StSan Diego, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 500 Capitol Mall, Ste 100Sacramento, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 496 Long Beach BlvdLong Beach, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 15165 Ventura BlvdSherman Oaks, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 2110 W Shaw AveFresno, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 9401 Wilshire BlvdBeverly Hills, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 2001 BroadwayOakland, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 7062 N 1st StFresno, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 10230 Paramount BlvdDowney, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 3396 Castro Valley BlvdCastro Valley, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 103 E Memory LnSanta Ana, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 12545 Central AveChino, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 777 Tennent AvePinole, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 1045 W Huntington DrArcadia, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 1833 Atlantic BlvdSouth Pasadena, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 33301 Alvarado Niles RdUnion City, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 945 Fresno StNewman, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 770 S Citrus AveCovina, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 24299 Southland DrHayward, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 758 Tucker RdTehachapi, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 19005 Colima RdRowland Heights, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 17303 Carmenita RdCerritos, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 3600 Mchenry AveModesto, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 400 N Glendale AveGlendale, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 7533 Dublin BlvdDublin, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 1739 E Colorado BlvdPasadena, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 8311 Haven Ave, Ste 100Rancho Cucamonga, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 6881 Warner AveHuntington Beach, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 5240 Clark AveLakewood, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 239 Westlake CtrDaly City, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 701 E 1st StTustin, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 2023 Mountain BlvdOakland, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 9075 Whittier BlvdPico Rivera, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 5 PlazaPatterson, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 3583 Mt Diablo BlvdLafayette, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 3494 MT. Whitney AvenueRiverdale, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
| 1045 Whitley AveCorcoran, CA | OpenBMO Bank National Association |
Banks folded into United California Bank
5 banks merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 9 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Tokai Bank of CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA | Jul 2, 2001 |
| Lloyds Bank CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA | Sep 2, 1986 |
| First City BankRosemead, CA | Feb 27, 1981 |
| Golden State BankDowney, CA | Jan 31, 1978 |
| Charter BankCulver City, CA | Dec 31, 1973 |
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 20589 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.