My father had an account at a branch of a national bank in the 1940s. Is there any way that I can obtain a record of an account that is that old?
The only way to know for sure is to ask the bank. I'll assume from the question that the account is no longer active. If it is active, the bank will have the records. Records required many years ago vary greatly from those today. Once upon a time, checking accounts didn't all have numbers. Instead, the bank knew their accounts by name, and more savings accounts were passbook accounts and bank statements were not required.
If the account is closed and the bank has had ownership changes/mergers, it gets harder. Those records may no longer exist.
Aside from the possibility that the records may still be there, the question is why should you have any access to the records. Your father's bank will want to know that you have the legal authority to get any records that exist. They may also charge you a research fee. Ask about this in advance.
BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
The only way to know for sure is to ask the bank. I'll assume from the question that the account is no longer active. If it is active, the bank will have the records. Records required many years ago vary greatly from those today. Once upon a time, checking accounts didn't all have numbers. Instead, the bank knew their accounts by name, and more savings accounts were passbook accounts and bank statements were not required. 