Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › North Carolina › Northwestern National Bank
What happened to Northwestern National Bank?
Northwestern National Bank in Wilkesboro, NC (earlier called Wilkes National Bank) merged into Catawba Valley Bank of Hickory, NC on Dec 31, 2002. After 4 more changes of hands, what was Northwestern National Bank is today part of First Horizon Bank (Memphis, TN).
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.
- 1992Wilkes National Bank opens in Wilkesboro, NC
- Apr 16, 2001renamed Northwestern National Bank
- Dec 31, 2002MERGEDNorthwestern National Bank merged into Catawba Valley Bank of Hickory, NC.FDIC certificate 33546 ends; its business continues under certificate 34083.
- Jan 6, 2006MERGEDCatawba Valley Bank of Hickory, NC merged into First Gaston Bank of North Carolina of Gastonia, NC.FDIC certificate 34083 ends; its business continues under certificate 34041.
- Aug 1, 2006MERGEDFirst Gaston Bank of North Carolina of Gastonia, NC merged into First National Bank and Trust Company of Asheboro, NC.FDIC certificate 34041 ends; its business continues under certificate 4879.
- Oct 26, 2016MERGEDFirst National Bank and Trust Company (by then renamed Communityone Bank, National Association) of Asheboro, NC merged into Capital Bank Corporation of Raleigh, NC.FDIC certificate 4879 ends; its business continues under certificate 59049.
- Nov 30, 2017MERGEDCapital Bank Corporation of Raleigh, NC merged into First Tennessee Bank, National Association of Memphis, TN.FDIC certificate 59049 ends; its business continues under certificate 4977.
- TodayOPEN
First Horizon BankMain office Memphis, TN · FDIC certificate 4977 · 406 offices in 12 states on June 30, 2026Every First Horizon Bank office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.firsthorizon.com
If you still have something from Northwestern National Bank
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Northwestern National Bank as lienholder, start with First Horizon Bank. 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 First Horizon Bank to search for the account under the name Northwestern National 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 First Horizon Bank which branch now holds boxes from the Northwestern National 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
6 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. 1 is still open as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 325 Leola StBoone, NC | OpenFirst Horizon Bank |
| 2924 N Nc Hwy 16Millers Creek, NC | No longer reported |
| 5 Sparta RoadNorth Wilkesboro, NC | No longer reported |
| 1600 Curtis Bridge RoadWilkesboro, NC | No longer reported |
| 1055 Mount Jefferson RoadWest Jefferson, NC | No longer reported |
| 151 West Main AveTaylorsville, NC | 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 33546 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.