KBC Group: Fourth-quarter result of 1 003 million euros

• Net interest income increased by 5% quarter-on-quarter and by 12% year-on-year. The net interest margin for the quarter under review amounted to 2.11%, up 7 basis points on the previous quarter and 3 basis points year-on-year. Customer loan volumes increased by 1% quarter-on-quarter and by 7% year-on-year. Customer deposits - excluding volatile, low-margin short-term deposits at KBC Bank’s foreign branches - were up 2% quarter-on-quarter and 3% year-on-year.

• The insurance service result (insurance revenues before reinsurance - insurance service expenses before reinsurance + net result from reinsurance contracts held) amounted to 166 million euros, compared to 142 million euros recorded in the previous quarter and 125 million euros in the year-earlier quarter. The insurance service result for the quarter under review breaks down into 107 million euros for non-life insurance and 59 million euros for life insurance. The non-life insurance combined ratio for full-year 2025 came to an excellent 87%, compared to 90% for full-year 2024. Sales of non-life insurance products grew by 11% year-on-year, while life insurance sales were up 26% on the level recorded in the previous quarter and up 46% on their level in the year-earlier quarter.

• Net fee and commission income was up 2% and 4% on its level in the previous and year-earlier quarters, respectively. In both cases, the increase was mainly thanks to higher fees from asset management activities, partly offset by lower fees from banking services. Assets under management were up 3% quarter-on-quarter and 9% year-on-year.

• Trading & fair value income and insurance finance income and expense was up 41 million euros and 52 million euros on the figure for the previous and year-earlier quarters, respectively. Net other income was below its normal run rate.

• Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were up 7% quarter-on-quarter and 2% year-on-year. Bank and insurance taxes were slightly up (by 2 million euros) on the previous quarter but down 4 million euros on the year-earlier figure. Full-year 2025 operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes rose by 2.8% (or 2.5% excluding forex effects) compared to full-year 2024, in line with our guidance. The cost/income ratio for full-year 2025 came to 46%, compared to 47% for full-year 2024. In that calculation, certain non-operating items have been excluded. When excluding all bank and insurance taxes, the cost/income ratio for full-year 2025 amounted to 41%, compared to 43% for full-year 2024.

• Loan loss impairment charges amounted to 73 million euros, compared to 45 million euros in the previous quarter and 50 million euros in the year-earlier quarter. The figure for the quarter under review included an impairment charge of 76 million euros for the loan book (55 million euros in the previous quarter) and a 3-million-euro release of the reserve for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties (compared to a 9-million-euro release in the previous quarter). The credit cost ratio for full-year 2025 amounted to 0.13%, compared to 0.10% for full-year 2024. Impairment on assets other than loans amounted to 48 million euros in the quarter under review, compared to 5 million euros in the previous quarter and 28 million euros in the year-earlier quarter.

• Income tax expenses amounted to 285 million euros, compared to 267 million euros in the previous quarter and a positive 96 million euros in the last quarter of 2024. The latter quarter had been impacted by a one-off tax benefit of 318 million euros related to the exit from Ireland.

• Our liquidity position remained strong, with an LCR of 159% and NSFR of 138%. Our capital base remained robust, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio of 14.9%* (which includes the impact of the proposed dividend payment).

* For the fully loaded common equity ratio as of 2025, KBC focuses on the so-called ‘unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio’, which takes into account the total impact of Basel IV on risk-weighted assets, excluding the output floor impact.

See full press release in attachment

Johan Thijs, Chief Executive Officer KBC Group:

‘We recorded an excellent net profit of 1 003 million euros in the last quarter of 2025. Compared to the previous quarter, our total income benefited from several factors, including higher net interest income, an increase in trading & fair value income, increased insurance revenues and higher net fee and commission income, clearly illustrating our strong income diversification. On a full-year basis, total income rose by 9%, well above our guided figure. Our loan portfolio continued to expand, growing by 1% quarter-on-quarter and by as much as 7% year-on-year. Customer deposits – excluding volatile, low-margin short-term deposits at KBC Bank’s foreign branches – were up 2% quarter-on-quarter and 3% year-on-year. Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were up on the previous quarter but remained in line with our guidance for the full year after excluding forex effects. Insurance service expenses after reinsurance were slightly lower, while loan loss impairment charges were up on the level recorded in the previous quarter. The credit cost ratio amounted to a favourable 13 basis points for full-year 2025, well below our guided figure. Consequently, when adding up the results for the four quarters of the year, our full-year 2025 net profit amounted to 3 568 million euros, up 18% on the year-earlier figure when excluding the one-off tax benefit of 318 million euros related to the exit from Ireland and the one-off 79-million-euro gain recorded under ‘Share in results of associated companies & joint ventures’, both in full-year 2024.

Our solvency position remained strong, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio under Basel IV of 14.9% at the end of December 2025. Our liquidity position remained very solid too, as illustrated by an LCR of 159% and an NSFR of 138%.

Our Board of Directors has decided to propose a total gross dividend of 5.1 euros per share to the General Meeting of Shareholders for the accounting year 2025. That figure includes an interim dividend of 1 euro per share that was already paid in November 2025 and the remaining 4.1 euros per share to be paid in May 2026. When including the proposed dividend of 5.1 euros per share and additional tier-1 coupon, the pay-out ratio amounts to 60% of 2025 net profit.

The past few months have also seen us make considerable progress in implementing our strategy. Besides finalising the acquisition of 365.bank in Slovakia, we were able to close the acquisition of Business Lease in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The combined impact of approximately 50 basis points on our capital position will be accounted for in the first quarter of 2026.

We aim to lead the way in digital innovation and as such are very happy that Kate, our AI-powered personal digital assistant, has reached 6 million customers in the meantime, up 13% on the year-earlier figure, with an autonomy of 82% in Belgium. We launched the ecosphere ‘MyMobility’, for which we already had 73 000 clients signed up during the first months. ​ ​

Furthermore, we have updated our short- and long-term financial guidance. By 2028, we are aiming for total income to outgrow operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes by at least 3.4 percentage points on average on an annual basis, leading to a cost/income ratio below 38%. We also maintain our guidance to achieve a combined ratio below 91% in non-life insurance.

Lastly, on the sustainability front, we are proud to be included in the CDP Climate A List for the fourth year running and also in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for the seventh consecutive year. Such recognition underscores KBC’s leading position in sustainability reporting and action.

I’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all our employees for their contribution to our group’s continued success. I also wish to thank all our customers, shareholders and all other stakeholders for their trust and support, and to assure them that we remain committed to being the reference in bank-insurance and innovation in all our home markets.’

* This news item contains information that is subject to the transparency regulations for listed companies.