Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Texas › Watauga State Bank
What happened to Watauga State Bank?
Watauga State Bank in Watauga, TX merged into First State Bank of Texas of Denton, TX on May 21, 1993. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Watauga State Bank is today part of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Sioux Falls, SD).
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.
- 1987Watauga State Bank opens in Watauga, TX
- May 21, 1993MERGEDWatauga State Bank merged into First State Bank of Texas of Denton, TX.FDIC certificate 26963 ends; its business continues under certificate 10348.
- Jun 15, 2002MERGEDFirst State Bank of Texas of Denton, TX merged into Wells Fargo Bank Texas, National Association of San Antonio, TX.FDIC certificate 10348 ends; its business continues under certificate 14533.
- Nov 21, 2003MERGEDWells Fargo Bank Texas, National Association of San Antonio, TX merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 14533 ends; its business continues under certificate 3511.
- TodayOPEN
Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 3511 · 4,157 offices in 40 states on June 30, 2026Every Wells Fargo Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.wellsfargo.com
If you still have something from Watauga State Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Watauga State Bank as lienholder, start with Wells Fargo 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name Watauga State 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Watauga State 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 ▾
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 26963 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.