Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › California › Golden State Bank, FSB
What happened to Golden State Bank, FSB?
Golden State Bank, FSB in Irvine, CA (earlier called Westmark Savings Bank and 1 other name) failed, and Golden State Federal Savings Bank of Irvine, CA took it over on Aug 13, 1993. The chain runs 1 step further and ends with no operating bank.
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the last entry on record. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1984Westmark Savings Bank opens in Irvine, CA
- Oct 31, 1987renamed Sherman Oaks Savings Bank, FSB
- May 20, 1991renamed Golden State Bank, FSB
- Aug 13, 1993FAILEDGolden State Bank, FSB failed, and Golden State Federal Savings Bank of Irvine, CA took it over.FDIC certificate 32228 ends; its business continues under certificate 33827.
- Apr 8, 1994FAILEDGolden State Federal Savings Bank of Irvine, CA failed and was closed. The FDIC record shows no successor.FDIC certificate 33827 ends.
- NO SUCCESSOR BANK
The FDIC record ends here. No operating bank carries this charter today.
If you still have something from Golden State Bank, FSB
A lien that was never released
Golden State Bank, FSB failed on Aug 13, 1993, 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. 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, Golden State Federal 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. 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.
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 32228 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.