The Disappearing Bank

(Some details about this story might be off, but the key points are there.)

In the 80s, Mr. Xyz borrowed money from a rural bank and used his home as collateral. He diligently paid his monthly bills until fully paid–but he didn't go through the trouble of collecting his title from the bank.

In 2016, he wanted to sell his house but to do so, he needed to get the title from the bank. He returned to the branch where he applied for his loan, only to find out it had closed. He researched his bank and discovered that a local bank had bought it in the 90s. Further research showed a foreign bank bought that local bank and that foreign bank had collapsed in light of the global financial crisis, with its assets purchased by another foreign bank.

He tried to call the US hotline of the foreign bank that supposedly had his title, but his counterpart over the phone didn't know what he was talking about, nor did he know who to direct his call to.

To make matters worse, Mr. Xyz no longer had records of all his payments.