Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Minnesota › Norwest Bank Winona, National Association
What happened to Norwest Bank Winona, National Association?
Norwest Bank Winona, National Association in Winona, MN (earlier called First Northwestern National Bank) merged into Norwest Bank Minnesota Southeast, National Association of Rochester, MN on Aug 1, 1988. After 2 more changes of hands, what was Norwest Bank Winona, National Association 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.
- 1855First Northwestern National Bank opens in Winona, MN
- May 1, 1983renamed Norwest Bank Winona, National Association
- Aug 1, 1988MERGEDNorwest Bank Winona, National Association merged into Norwest Bank Minnesota Southeast, National Association of Rochester, MN.FDIC certificate 5279 ends; its business continues under certificate 5237.
- Jul 8, 2000MERGEDNorwest Bank Minnesota Southeast, National Association (by then renamed Norwest Bank Minnesota South, National Association) of Rochester, MN merged into Norwest Bank Minnesota, National Association of Minneapolis, MN.FDIC certificate 5237 ends; its business continues under certificate 5208.
- Feb 20, 2004MERGEDNorwest Bank Minnesota, National Association (by then renamed Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, National Association) of Minneapolis, MN merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 5208 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 Norwest Bank Winona, National Association
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows Norwest Bank Winona, National Association 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 Norwest Bank Winona, National 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 Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the Norwest Bank Winona, National 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 5279 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.