Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Illinois › Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association
What happened to Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association?
Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association in Oak Brook, IL merged into Uptown Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago of Chicago, IL on Mar 31, 1987. After 5 more changes of hands, what was Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association is today part of Citibank, 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.
- 1921Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association opens in Oak Brook, IL
- Mar 31, 1987MERGEDBen Franklin Savings and Loan Association merged into Uptown Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago of Chicago, IL.FDIC certificate 30710 ends; its business continues under certificate 30136.
- Feb 29, 1988MERGEDUptown Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago of Chicago, IL merged into First Nationwide Bank, A FSB of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 30136 ends; its business continues under certificate 29640.
- Oct 1, 1994MERGEDFirst Nationwide Bank, A FSB of San Francisco, CA merged into First Nationwide Bank, FSB of Dallas, TX.FDIC certificate 29640 ends; its business continues under certificate 32643.
- Jan 3, 1997MERGEDFirst Nationwide Bank, FSB of Dallas, TX merged into California Federal Bank, A FSB of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 32643 ends; its business continues under certificate 30278.
- Nov 13, 2002MERGEDCalifornia Federal Bank, A FSB (by then renamed California Federal Bank) of San Francisco, CA merged into Citibank (West), FSB of San Francisco, CA.FDIC certificate 30278 ends; its business continues under certificate 57443.
- Oct 1, 2006MERGEDCitibank (West), FSB (by then renamed West, National Association) of San Francisco, CA merged into Citibank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 57443 ends; its business continues under certificate 7213.
- TodayOPEN
Citibank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 7213 · 667 offices in 14 states on June 30, 2026Every Citibank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.citibank.com
If you still have something from Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association as lienholder, start with Citibank, 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 Citibank, National Association to search for the account under the name Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association. 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 Citibank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Ben Franklin Savings and Loan Association 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 30710 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.