Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › California Overseas Bank
What happened to California Overseas Bank?
California Overseas Bank in Los Angeles, CA merged into Surety National Bank of Beverly Hills, CA on Nov 8, 1979. After 4 more changes of hands, what was California Overseas Bank is today part of First Bank (St. Louis, MO).
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.
- 1976California Overseas Bank opens in Los Angeles, CA
- Nov 8, 1979MERGEDCalifornia Overseas Bank merged into Surety National Bank of Beverly Hills, CA.FDIC certificate 22363 ends; its business continues under certificate 19198.
- Dec 31, 1999MERGEDSurety National Bank (by then renamed Century Bank) of Beverly Hills, CA merged into First Bank & Trust of Newport Beach, CA.FDIC certificate 19198 ends; its business continues under certificate 20233.
- Nov 1, 2000MERGEDFirst Bank & Trust of Newport Beach, CA merged into First Bank & Trust of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 20233 ends; its business continues under certificate 18678.
- Mar 29, 2001MERGEDFirst Bank & Trust of San Francisco, CA merged into First Bank & Trust of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 18678 ends; its business continues under certificate 22912.
- Mar 31, 2003MERGEDFirst Bank & Trust of San Francisco, CA merged into First Bank of St. Louis, MO.FDIC certificate 22912 ends; its business continues under certificate 12229.
- TodayOPEN
First BankMain office St. Louis, MO · FDIC certificate 12229 · 76 offices in 4 states on June 30, 2026Every First Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: WWW.FIRST.BANK
If you still have something from California Overseas Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows California Overseas Bank as lienholder, start with First Bank. 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 First Bank to search for the account under the name California Overseas 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 First Bank which branch now holds boxes from the California Overseas 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 ▾
Banks folded into California Overseas Bank
1 bank merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Ahmanson Bank and Trust CompanyBeverly Hills, CA | Nov 8, 1976 |
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 22363 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.