Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank
What happened to First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank?
First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank in Santa Monica, CA (earlier called First Federal Savings Bank of California) failed, and OneWest Bank, FSB of Pasadena, CA took it over on Dec 18, 2009. After 1 more change of hands, what was First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank is today part of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (Raleigh, NC).
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.
- 1929First Federal Savings Bank of California opens in Santa Monica, CA
- Oct 16, 1989renamed First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank
- Dec 18, 2009FAILEDFirst Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank failed, and OneWest Bank, FSB of Pasadena, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 28536 ends; its business continues under certificate 58978.
- Jan 4, 2022MERGEDOneWest Bank, FSB (by then renamed CIT Bank, National Association) of Pasadena, CA merged into First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company of Raleigh, NC.FDIC certificate 58978 ends; its business continues under certificate 11063.
- TodayOPEN
First-Citizens Bank & Trust CompanyMain office Raleigh, NC · FDIC certificate 11063 · 518 offices in 23 states on June 30, 2026Every First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.firstcitizens.com
If you still have something from First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank
A lien that was never released
First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank failed on Dec 18, 2009. 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-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, 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, OneWest Bank, FSB). Start with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, and ask them to search under the name First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank.
For failures since mid-1993 the law sets a clock: insured deposits not claimed within 18 months of the FDIC starting to pay depositors are offered to the state of the depositor's last known address on the bank's records. If the state takes them, the owner has 10 years to claim there before the money returns to the FDIC. Check FDIC unclaimed funds search and that state's unclaimed-property program.
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-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. 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. 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
46 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 2 are still open as of June 30, 2026. Showing 40.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 401 Wilshire BlvdSanta Monica, CA | OpenFirst-Citizens Bank & Trust Company |
| 3000 S Sepulveda BlvdLos Angeles, CA | OpenFirst-Citizens Bank & Trust Company |
| 351 S Vermont AveLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 2827 Main StreetSanta Monica, CA | No longer reported |
| 5701 N. Kanan RoadAgoura, CA | No longer reported |
| 20505 Devonshire StreetChatsworth, CA | No longer reported |
| 5701 South Eastern Ave.City Of Commerce, CA | No longer reported |
| 10784 Jefferson Blvd.Culver City, CA | No longer reported |
| 5573 Sepulveda BlvdCulver City, CA | No longer reported |
| 16500 Ventura Blvd.Encino, CA | No longer reported |
| 1100 Pacific Coast HighwayHermosa Beach, CA | No longer reported |
| 2177 Pacific Coast HwyLomita, CA | No longer reported |
| 3500 E. Seventh StreetLong Beach, CA | No longer reported |
| 11310 National BlvdLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 12401 Wilshire Blvd.Los Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 2920 N.beverly Glen CirLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 351 S Vermont AveLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 400 N LA Brea AvenueLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 464 N. Fairfax AvenueLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 8750 S. Sepulveda BlvdLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 9618 W Pico BlvdLos Angeles, CA | No longer reported |
| 13405 Washington BlvdMarina Del Rey, CA | No longer reported |
| 15135 Sunset BlvdPacific Palisades, CA | No longer reported |
| 17361 Sunset BlvdPacific Palisades, CA | No longer reported |
| 3809 E. Foothill BoulevardPasadena, CA | No longer reported |
| 30019 Hawthorne Blvd.Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | No longer reported |
| 2233 Artesia Blvd.Redondo Beach, CA | No longer reported |
| 1630 Montana AveSanta Monica, CA | No longer reported |
| 1750 Ocean Park BlvdSanta Monica, CA | No longer reported |
| 2827 Main StreetSanta Monica, CA | No longer reported |
| 18585 Ventura BlvdTarzana, CA | No longer reported |
| 1513 W. Sepulveda Blvd.Torrance, CA | No longer reported |
| 23415 Crenshaw BlvdTorrance, CA | No longer reported |
| 3422 Carson StreetTorrance, CA | No longer reported |
| 8653 Beverly Blvd.West Hollywood, CA | No longer reported |
| 3835 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Unit PWestlake Village, CA | No longer reported |
| 475 East Avenue De Los ArbolesThousand Oaks, CA | No longer reported |
| 704 S. State College BoulevardAnaheim, CA | No longer reported |
| 7872 Valley View StreetBuena Park, CA | No longer reported |
| 3947 Irvine BoulevardIrvine, CA | No longer reported |
Banks folded into First Federal Bank of California, a Federal Savings Bank
2 banks merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 3 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Del Amo Savings Bank, FSBTorrance, CA | Nov 30, 2001 |
| Frontier State BankRedondo Beach, CA | Nov 30, 2001 |
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 28536 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.