During my research on banks in Europe, I came across some strange things. Here’s an example. Some banks have a banking license in a country, while the banks themselves say they are no longer active there:
LBBW has a banking license in Luxembourg according to the ECB.
![](http://blog.janmusschoot.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ECB-LBBW-LU.png)
LBBW doesn’t mention Luxembourg on its global locations site. A 2012 article says LBBW pulled out of Luxembourg.
Credit Europe has a banking license in Belgium according to the ECB.
![](http://blog.janmusschoot.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ECB-Credit-Europe-BE.png)
But Credit Europe says it has stopped its activities in Belgium in 2016.
![](http://blog.janmusschoot.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Credit-Europe-BE-shut-down.png)
Bank of Scotland has a banking license in France and in the Netherlands, according to the ECB. But the bank says it does not operate internationally.
![](http://blog.janmusschoot.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ECB-Bank-of-Scotland.png)
What’s going on here?