Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › First National Bank
What happened to First National Bank?
First National Bank in San Diego, CA merged into Rancho Santa Fe National Bank of Rancho Santa Fe, CA on Sep 11, 2002. After 1 more change of hands, what was First National Bank is today part of Banc of California (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.
- 1981First National Bank opens in San Diego, CA
- Sep 11, 2002MERGEDFirst National Bank merged into Rancho Santa Fe National Bank of Rancho Santa Fe, CA.FDIC certificate 23634 ends; its business continues under certificate 23743.
- Oct 26, 2006MERGEDRancho Santa Fe National Bank (by then renamed First National Bank) of Rancho Santa Fe, CA merged into Pacific Western Bank of Los Angeles, CA.FDIC certificate 23743 ends; its business continues under certificate 24045.
- TodayOPEN
Banc of CaliforniaMain office Los Angeles, CA · FDIC certificate 24045 · 79 offices in 3 states on June 30, 2026Every Banc of California office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.bancofcal.com
If you still have something from First National Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First National Bank as lienholder, start with Banc of California. 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 Banc of California to search for the account under the name First National 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 Banc of California which branch now holds boxes from the First National 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
10 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 4 are still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 730 Broadway, Ste 200Chula Vista, CA | OpenBanc of California |
| 418 W San Ysidro BlvdSan Ysidro, CA | OpenBanc of California |
| 456 Santa Monica BlvdSanta Monica, CA | OpenBanc of California |
| 1661 Rosecrans StSan Diego, CA | OpenBanc of California |
| 7855 Ivanhoe Ave, Ste 100La Jolla, CA | No longer reported |
| 2011 Palomar Airport Road, Suite 110Carlsbad, CA | No longer reported |
| 4225 Executive SquareLA Jolla, CA | No longer reported |
| 1620 Fifth AvenueSan Diego, CA | No longer reported |
| 100 East Fourth StreetCalexico, CA | No longer reported |
| 2455 Otay Center Drive, #116Otay Mesa, CA | No longer reported |
Banks folded into First National Bank
3 banks merged directly into this charter.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Bank of Southern CaliforniaSan Diego, CA | Sep 30, 1996 |
| National BankLa Jolla, CA | May 29, 1987 |
| National Bank of Fairbanks RanchSan Diego, CA | May 29, 1987 |
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 23634 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.