Franklin First Financial Ltd., 1st Franklin Financial Corporation, and the former First Franklin mortgage business are different identities. The records we checked do not establish that the New York lender closed in 2018 and reopened as the Georgia consumer lender.
Read the source: Georgia Department of Banking and Finance · July 2016 report (PDF)
Identify the company
| Name | Identity anchor | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin First Financial Ltd. | Melville, New York | Historical mortgage lender; 2018 origination closure |
| 1st Franklin Financial Corporation | Toccoa, Georgia | Consumer finance company; official site 1ffc.com |
| First Franklin mortgage | National City / Merrill Lynch history | Separate mortgage business; 2008 shutdown record |
Three names, three records
Franklin First Financial Ltd. was a mortgage lender associated with Melville, New York. 1st Franklin Financial Corporation is the Toccoa, Georgia company that provides consumer loans at 1ffc.com, with a history extending to 1941. First Franklin was also the name of a separate mortgage business acquired by Merrill Lynch from National City. Word order alone is an unreliable way to identify your lender.
Why the dates matter
Georgia’s July 2016 mortgage regulator report separately lists Franklin First Financial Ltd. and 1st Franklin Financial Corporation. They therefore existed at the same time before the New York company stopped originating loans in 2018. This is evidence against the simple “closed and recreated” story; it is not a corporate-family-tree search proving that no relationship ever existed.
Continue: 1st Franklin Financial History: From 1941 to Today
Match your document before taking action
Read the legal name on your agreement or statement, the property or branch address, and the account contact information. For a mortgage, identify the company currently handling the mortgage as well as the original lender. For a 1FFC installment loan, start at the company’s official website. Do not send payments or account documents to a company simply because its name looks similar.
Continue: First Franklin Mortgage: History and Name Confusion
Frequently asked questions
Did Franklin First become 1st Franklin?
No succession or acquisition document establishing that claim was found in the records we checked. We do not present it as fact.
Which company’s routing number or loan requirements should I use?
Identify the institution first. 1st Franklin Financial is a consumer lender, while Franklin First Federal Credit Union is a separate institution. Use the account provider’s official instructions for banking details and its own current requirements for a loan.
Sources
Read the original documents and company pages behind this guide.
- Georgia Department of Banking and Finance · July 2016 report (PDF) dbf.georgia.gov · reviewed October 16, 2026
- NYDFS · November 16, 2018 cease-and-desist order (PDF) www.dfs.ny.gov · reviewed October 16, 2026
- 1FFC · Official company history www.1ffc.com · reviewed October 16, 2026
- SEC EDGAR · Merrill Lynch 2007 report and First Franklin acquisition www.sec.gov · reviewed October 16, 2026
