Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Monterey Bay Bank
What happened to Monterey Bay Bank?
Monterey Bay Bank in Watsonville, CA (earlier called Watsonville Federal Savings and Loan Association) merged into Union Bank of California, National Association of San Francisco, CA on Jul 1, 2003. After 1 more change of hands, what was Monterey Bay Bank is today part of U.S. Bank National Association (Cincinnati, OH).
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.
- 1925Watsonville Federal Savings and Loan Association opens in Watsonville, CA
- Oct 1, 1996renamed Monterey Bay Bank
- Jul 1, 2003MERGEDMonterey Bay Bank merged into Union Bank of California, National Association of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 28271 ends; its business continues under certificate 22826.
- May 26, 2023MERGEDUnion Bank of California, National Association (by then renamed MUFG Union Bank, National Association) of San Francisco, CA merged into U.S. Bank National Association of Cincinnati, OH.FDIC certificate 22826 ends; its business continues under certificate 6548.
- TodayOPEN
U.S. Bank National AssociationMain office Cincinnati, OH · FDIC certificate 6548 · 2,097 offices in 29 states on June 30, 2026Every U.S. Bank National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.usbank.com
If you still have something from Monterey Bay Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Monterey Bay Bank as lienholder, start with U.S. 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 U.S. Bank National Association to search for the account under the name Monterey Bay 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 U.S. Bank National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Monterey Bay 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
9 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1400 Munras Ave.Monterey, CA | No longer reported |
| 1127 S. Salinas St.Salinas, CA | No longer reported |
| 1890 N. Main St.Salinas, CA | No longer reported |
| 8071 San Miguel Canyon RdSalinas, CA | No longer reported |
| 35 East Lake AvenueWatsonville, CA | No longer reported |
| 601 Bay Ave.Capitola, CA | No longer reported |
| 6265 Hwy 9Felton, CA | No longer reported |
| 567 Auto Center DriveWatsonville, CA | No longer reported |
| 805 First St.Gilroy, CA | No longer reported |
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 28271 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.