Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Florida › FirstMerit Bank, FSB
What happened to FirstMerit Bank, FSB?
FirstMerit Bank, FSB in Clearwater, FL (earlier called Life Savings Bank, FSB) merged into FirstMerit Bank, National Association of Clearwater, FL on Apr 1, 1996. After 4 more changes of hands, what was FirstMerit Bank, FSB 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.
- 1994Life Savings Bank, FSB opens in Clearwater, FL
- Mar 13, 1995renamed FirstMerit Bank, FSB
- Apr 1, 1996MERGEDFirstMerit Bank, FSB merged into FirstMerit Bank, National Association of Clearwater, FL.FDIC certificate 33886 ends; its business continues under certificate 32815.
- Dec 31, 1996MERGEDFirstMerit Bank, National Association of Clearwater, FL merged into SouthTrust Bank of Florida, National Association of St. Petersburg, FL.FDIC certificate 32815 ends; its business continues under certificate 21679.
- Jun 2, 1997MERGEDSouthTrust Bank of Florida, National Association of St. Petersburg, FL merged into SouthTrust Bank, National Association of Birmingham, AL.FDIC certificate 21679 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 FirstMerit Bank, FSB
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows FirstMerit Bank, FSB as lienholder, start with Wells Fargo Bank, 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name FirstMerit Bank, FSB. 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the FirstMerit Bank, FSB 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
5 offices filed under this charter in some year from 1994 on. None is still reporting as of June 30, 2026.
| Office | Now |
|---|---|
| 1488 S Belcher RoadClearwater, FL | No longer reported |
| 130 Island WayClearwater, FL | No longer reported |
| 1488 S Belcher RdClearwater, FL | No longer reported |
| 28059 U.S. Highway 19 NClearwater, FL | No longer reported |
| 5016 East Bay DriveClearwater, FL | No longer reported |
Banks folded into FirstMerit Bank, FSB
1 bank merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 2 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| Life Federal Savings BankClearwater, FL | Mar 11, 1994 |
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 33886 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.