Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Alvarado Bank
What happened to Alvarado Bank?
Alvarado Bank in Richmond, CA failed, and Pacific Bay Bank of San Pablo, CA took it over on Jan 25, 1991. After 4 more changes of hands, what was Alvarado 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.
- 1983Alvarado Bank opens in Richmond, CA
- Jan 25, 1991FAILEDAlvarado Bank failed, and Pacific Bay Bank of San Pablo, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 24568 ends; its business continues under certificate 33294.
- Feb 2, 1998MERGEDPacific Bay Bank of San Pablo, CA merged into First Bank of California of Sacramento, CA.FDIC certificate 33294 ends; its business continues under certificate 32036.
- Nov 1, 2000MERGEDFirst Bank of California of Sacramento, CA merged into First Bank & Trust of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 32036 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 Alvarado Bank
A lien that was never released
Alvarado Bank failed on Jan 25, 1991. 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 First 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, Pacific Bay Bank). Start with First Bank, and ask them to search under the name Alvarado 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 First 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 24568 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.