Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › First City Bank
What happened to First City Bank?
First City Bank in Glendale, CA (earlier called Burbank Citizens Bank and 1 other name) failed, and Sterling Bank of Los Angeles, CA took it over on Dec 20, 1985. After 2 more changes of hands, what was First City Bank is today part of City National Bank (Los Angeles, CA).
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.
- 1978Burbank Citizens Bank opens in Glendale, CA
- Jul 14, 1980renamed California Citizens Bank
- Aug 28, 1984renamed First City Bank
- Dec 20, 1985FAILEDFirst City Bank failed, and Sterling Bank of Los Angeles, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 22698 ends; its business continues under certificate 23236.
- Jul 3, 1998MERGEDSterling Bank of Los Angeles, CA merged into The Pacific Bank, National Association of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 23236 ends; its business continues under certificate 24706.
- Feb 29, 2000MERGEDThe Pacific Bank, National Association of San Francisco, CA merged into City National Bank of Los Angeles, CA.FDIC certificate 24706 ends; its business continues under certificate 17281.
- TodayOPEN
City National BankMain office Los Angeles, CA · FDIC certificate 17281 · 66 offices in 8 states on June 30, 2026Every City National Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.cnb.com
If you still have something from First City Bank
A lien that was never released
First City Bank failed on Dec 20, 1985. 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 City National Bank, 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, Sterling Bank). Start with City National Bank, and ask them to search under the name First City Bank.
This failure is older than the current federal rule on unclaimed deposits (mid-1993), so different rules apply. Search FDIC unclaimed funds search, search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and ask FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 what applies to this institution.
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 City National Bank. 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.
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 22698 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.