Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › North Dakota › First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo
What happened to First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo?
First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo in Fargo, ND failed, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo, F.A. of Fargo, ND took it over on May 10, 1991. After 1 more change of hands, what was First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo is today part of Alerus Financial, National Association (Grand Forks, ND).
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.
- 1880First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo opens in Fargo, ND
- May 10, 1991FAILEDFirst Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo failed, and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo, F.A. of Fargo, ND took it over.FDIC certificate 28265 ends; its business continues under certificate 33409.
- Nov 1, 1991RESOLVEDFirst Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo, F.A. of Fargo, ND was closed in a federal resolution, and its business passed to First National Bank North Dakota of Grand Forks, ND.FDIC certificate 33409 ends; its business continues under certificate 3931.
- TodayOPEN
Alerus Financial, National AssociationMain office Grand Forks, ND · FDIC certificate 3931 · 26 offices in 5 states on June 30, 2026Every Alerus Financial, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.alerus.com
If you still have something from First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo
A lien that was never released
First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo failed on May 10, 1991, handled by the Resolution Trust Corporation, the agency that closed failed savings institutions from 1989 to 1995. The FDIC's lien-release page covers failed banks and savings and loans placed in FDIC receivership; it does not say how releases work for resolutions this old.
Call FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 (8am–4pm Central, weekdays) and ask whether the FDIC holds this institution's receivership. Ask Alerus Financial, National Association as well: the chain above leads there. The FDIC's own instructions are at FDIC, Obtaining a Lien Release.
An old account, passbook or CD
When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo, F.A.). Start with Alerus Financial, National Association, and ask them to search under the name First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Fargo.
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 Alerus Financial, National Association. 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 28265 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.