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What happened to First South Savings Bank?
First South Savings Bank in Columbia, SC failed, and First South Savings Bank, F.S.B. of Columbia, SC took it over on Apr 24, 1992. After 4 more changes of hands, what was First South Savings 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.
- 1983First South Savings Bank opens in Columbia, SC
- Apr 24, 1992FAILEDFirst South Savings Bank failed, and First South Savings Bank, F.S.B. of Columbia, SC took it over.FDIC certificate 32186 ends; its business continues under certificate 33593.
- Sep 24, 1993RESOLVEDFirst South Savings Bank, F.S.B. of Columbia, SC was closed in a federal resolution, and its business passed to SouthTrust Bank of Charleston, National Association of Charleston, SC.FDIC certificate 33593 ends; its business continues under certificate 27466.
- Jun 2, 1997MERGEDSouthTrust Bank of Charleston, National Association (by then renamed SouthTrust Bank of South Carolina, National Association) of Charleston, SC merged into SouthTrust Bank, National Association of Birmingham, AL.FDIC certificate 27466 ends; its business continues under certificate 849.
- Jan 3, 2005MERGEDSouthTrust Bank, National Association (by then renamed SouthTrust Bank) of Birmingham, AL merged into Wachovia Bank, National Association of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 849 ends; its business continues under certificate 33869.
- Mar 20, 2010MERGEDWachovia Bank, National Association of Charlotte, NC merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 33869 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 First South Savings Bank
A lien that was never released
First South Savings Bank failed on Apr 24, 1992, 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 Wells Fargo Bank, 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 South Savings Bank, F.S.B.). Start with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, and ask them to search under the name First South Savings Bank.
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 Wells Fargo Bank, 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 32186 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.