KBC Groep NV

KBC Groupe posted a net profit of 1,152 million euros for the second quarter of 2026, up from 557 million euros in the previous quarter and 1,018 million euros a year earlier. Total revenues benefited from higher net interest income, insurance income, fair value and trading income, net fee and commission income, and a seasonal peak in dividend income, while other net income declined. The loan book grew organically by 3% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year, and customer deposits excluding volatile short-term low-margin deposits at foreign subsidiaries of KBC Bank rose organically by 2% quarter-on-quarter and 4% year-on-year. Operating expenses fell sharply from the prior quarter as the bulk of annual bank and insurance taxes were booked in the first quarter, and excluding those taxes expenses edged down slightly; year-to-date expenses were in line with full-year 2026 guidance. Credit impairment charges decreased significantly quarter-on-quarter, and the year-to-date cost of credit ratio stood at a favorable 11 basis points for the first half of 2026 when excluding a reserve for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties and the recent acquisition of 365.bank. First-half 2026 net profit reached 1,709 million euros, a 9% increase over the prior year, with the acquisitions of 365.bank in Slovakia and Business Lease in the Czech Republic and Slovakia contributing 29 million euros. The group maintained a fully loaded common equity ratio of 14.4% under Basel IV without a floor at end-June 2026, completed a second significant risk transfer on a 1.25 billion euro corporate loan portfolio that reduced risk-weighted assets by 0.7 billion euros, and reported strong liquidity with an LCR of 158% and an NSFR of 133%. An interim dividend of 1 euro will be paid in November 2026 as an advance on the total 2026 dividend, and the group raised its 2026 net interest income forecast to around 7.05 billion euros from at least 6,725 million euros and its revenue growth forecast to around plus 11.0% year-on-year from at least plus 9.9%. Digital assistant Kate now serves 6.2 million customers across core markets, handling about 75% of requests autonomously, equivalent to the workload of over 400 full-time staff, while the MyMobility ecosystem has attracted nearly 390,000 customers in Belgium and the Czech Republic and MyHome has 60,000 customers in Belgium.

KBC Group has successfully completed a second significant risk transfer transaction on a €1.25 billion corporate loan portfolio. The risk transfer was achieved through the placement of credit linked notes to institutional investors, covering first loss exposure on the portfolio originated by KBC Bank's corporate banking department. This transaction will result in a risk-weighted assets saving of approximately €0.7 billion, strengthening the unfloored fully loaded CET1 ratio of KBC Group by about 8 basis points as of the second quarter of 2026.