KBC Group: Third-quarter result of 1 002 million euros

• Net interest income increased by 1% quarter-on-quarter and by 10% year-on-year. The net interest margin for the quarter under review amounted to 2.05%, down 3 basis points on the previous quarter and 4 basis points year-on-year. Customer loan volumes increased by 2% quarter-on-quarter and by 8% year-on-year. Customer deposits – excluding volatile, low-margin short-term deposits at KBC Bank’s foreign branches – were stable quarter-on-quarter and up 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 142 million euros, down on the 166 million euros recorded in the previous quarter and significantly up on the low 81 million euros recorded in the year-earlier quarter (which had been affected by Storm Boris in Central Europe). The insurance service result for the quarter under review breaks down into 87 million euros for non-life insurance and 55 million euros for life insurance. The non-life insurance combined ratio for the first nine months of 2025 came to an excellent 87%, compared to 90% for full-year 2024. Sales of non-life insurance products increased by 8% year-on-year, while life insurance sales were up 29% on the level recorded in the previous quarter and up 7% on their level in the year-earlier quarter.

• Net fee and commission income was up 6% on its level in the previous quarter and 10% on its level a year ago, due in both cases to higher fees from asset management activities and from banking services.

• Trading & fair value income and insurance finance income and expense was down 29 million euros and 20 million euros on the figure for the previous and year-earlier quarters, respectively. Net other income was only slightly below its normal run rate. Dividend income was down on the previous quarter’s level, since the bulk of dividend income is traditionally received in the second quarter.

• Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were up 2% quarter-on-quarter and a mere 1% year-on-year. Bank and insurance taxes were up 23 million euros on the previous quarter and in line with the year-earlier figure. The cost/income ratio for the first nine months of 2025 came to 45%, compared to 47% for full-year 2024. In that calculation, certain non-operating items have been excluded and bank and insurance taxes spread evenly throughout the year. When excluding all bank and insurance taxes, the cost/income ratio for the first nine months of 2025 amounted to 41%, compared to 43% for full-year 2024.

• Loan loss impairment charges amounted to 45 million euros, significantly down on the 116 million euros recorded in the previous quarter and the 61 million euros in the year-earlier quarter. The figure for the quarter under review included an increase of 55 million euros for the loan book (compared to 76 million euros in the previous quarter) and a 9 million-euro release from the reserve for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties (compared to a 40-million-euros increase in the previous quarter). The credit cost ratio for the first nine months of 2025 amounted to 0.12%, compared to 0.10% for full-year 2024.

• The share in results of associated companies & joint ventures amounted to just 2 million euros in the quarter under review, in line with the level recorded in the previous quarter. In the year-earlier quarter, however, it had included a one-off 79-million euro gain (related to Isabel NV).

• Our liquidity position remained strong, with an LCR of 158% and NSFR of 134%. Our capital base remained robust, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio of 14.9%*.

* 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 impact of Basel IV on total 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 1 002 million euros in the third quarter of 2025. Compared to the previous quarter, our total income benefited from an increase in net interest income, insurance revenues and net fee and commission income, while trading and fair value income, net other income and dividend income (following the seasonal peak in the second quarter) were down. Our loan portfolio continued to expand, increasing by 2% quarter-on-quarter and by 8% year-on-year. Customer deposits – excluding volatile, low-margin short-term deposits at KBC Bank’s foreign branches – were stable quarter-on-quarter and up 3% year-on-year. Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were marginally higher, and remained perfectly within our guidance. Insurance service expenses after reinsurance were also up, but loan loss impairment charges decreased significantly, leading to a very favourable credit cost ratio of just 12 basis points for the first nine months of 2025 (13 basis points excluding the changes in the reserve for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties). Consequently, when adding up the results for the first three quarters of the year, our year-to-date net profit amounted to 2 566 million euros, up 12% on the year-earlier figure.

Our solvency position remained strong, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio under Basel IV of 14.9% at the end of September 2025. Our liquidity position remained very solid too, as illustrated by an LCR of 158% and an NSFR of 134%. In line with our dividend policy, we paid out an interim dividend of 1 euro per share on 7 November 2025 as an advance on the total dividend for 2025. We further increased our full-year 2025 guidance for net interest income to at least 5.95 billion euros (up from 5.85 billion euros as guided in the previous quarter), as well as for total income growth to at least 7.5% (up from 7.0%).

We continue to lead the way in digital innovation. Kate, our AI-powered personal digital assistant, has recently been further upgraded to enable even more natural and intuitive conversations, which will further boost autonomy and customer usage. Kate now autonomously resolves seven out of ten customer queries across our core markets. And with our enhanced Kate Coin programme, it is now even easier for customers to earn and use Kate Coins. Among other things, customers can earn Kate Coins at one partner and use them at another. Besides this, we are working together with eight European banks in developing a MiCAR-compliant euro stablecoin that brings stability to the rapidly evolving world of crypto and tokenisation.

We regularly receive external recognition for our innovative approach and are particularly proud that independent international research agency Sia has again named KBC Mobile the world’s best mobile banking app. KBC has now won this prestigious title three times: in 2021, 2024 and 2025.

Furthermore, we recently reached an agreement to acquire Business Lease in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, for a total consideration of 72 million euros. This transaction will enable KBC to significantly expand its leasing activities in Central Europe and strengthen its market position in both countries. The deal will have an immaterial impact on our capital position and is still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. It is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2026.

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.