In response to the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s, Congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989. FIRREA abolished the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and FSLIC. Savings and Loan regulation was transferred to the newly created Office of Thrift Supervision. A new entity, the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), was created to resolve insolvent S&Ls. Responsibility for administering deposit insurance went to the FDIC.

FDIC administers insurance funds responsible for protecting depositors from losses when banks fail. There has been at least one failure every year since operations began in 1934. More than 1,400 banks and 700 savings & loan institutions closed between 1982 and 1992 alone. There were 25 bank failures in 2008, including the largest ever, Washington Mutual, with $182 billion in deposits. 2009 saw 140 failed banks, with more to follow.

Bank accounts are considered abandoned if a deposit or withdrawal is not made over a period of time, generally from one to five years. This may be true even in cases where CD's (Certificates of Deposit) automatically "roll-over." FDIC has taken custody of several hundred million dollars worth of insured accounts over the years, and currently holds over 500,000 unclaimed accounts.

For those who owned accounts at a branch no longer in existence, the funds may well have been transferred to a successor bank after a merger or acquisition. Even in the event the bank failed and closed its doors, do not necessarily assume your funds are lost forever. U

nder the terms of the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery & Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), the FDIC administers three insurance funds responsible for protecting depositors in banks and thrifts from losses when institutions fail: the Bank Insurance Fund (BIF); Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF); and the FSLIC Resolution Fund (FRF).

Note unclaimed credit union shares are handled by a separate federal agency, the National Credit Union Administration. NCUA is an independent agency that supervises and insures over 7,329 federal credit unions and 4,538 state-chartered credit unions. When a federally-insured credit union is liquidated, NCUA's Asset Liquidation Management Center assumes responsibility for paying share accounts to members. NCUSIF, The National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insures member deposits up to a $250,000 limit. Since 1990, more than $331 million has been paid out to well over 100,000 shareholders.

For assistance tracking down funds from closed banks and credit unions, including Certificates of Deposit and IRA retirement accounts, or to trace funds lost after a bank merger or acquisition go to: Unclaimed Bank Account Search