KBC Group: Second-quarter result of 1 018 million euros

‘We recorded an excellent net profit of 1 018 million euros in the second quarter of 2025. Compared to the result for the previous quarter, our total income benefited from several factors, including the sharp increase in net interest income, higher insurance income, better trading and fair value income and the seasonal peak in dividend income, while net fee and commission income – though still at a high level – was down somewhat quarter-on-quarter.
Our loan portfolio continued to expand, increasing by 2% 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 also up 2% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year.

Operating expenses were down significantly on their level in the previous quarter, due to the fact that the bulk of bank and insurance taxes for the full year were recorded – as usual – in the first quarter. Disregarding bank and insurance taxes, operating expenses were up by 2% quarter-on-quarter. Insurance service expenses after reinsurance were down, whereas loan loss impairment charges increased, though the credit cost ratio for the first six months of 2025 remained at a favourable level of 15 basis points, well below the through-the-cycle value of 25-30 basis points.
Consequently, when adding up the results for the first and second quarters of the year, our net profit for the first half of 2025 amounted to 1 564 million euros, up 9% on the year-earlier figure.

Our solvency position remained strong, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio under Basel IV of 14.6% at the end of June 2025. Our liquidity position remained very solid too, as illustrated by an LCR of 157% and an NSFR of 135%. In line with our dividend policy, we will pay out an interim dividend of 1 euro per share in November 2025 as an advance on the total dividend for financial year 2025. Furthermore, we also decided to increase our guidance for net interest income for full-year 2025 to at least 5.85 billion euros, up from our initial guidance of 5.7 billion euros, as well as our guidance for 2025 total income growth to at least 7%, up from our initial guidance of 5.5%.

We continue to lead the way in digital innovation, with Kate playing a pivotal role in delivering smarter, faster, and more personal, safe and trusted services to our customers. Today, 5.7 million customers use Kate, that’s 19% more than one year ago. Operationally, Kate now autonomously resolves 7 out of 10 customer queries across our core markets. That’s equivalent to the workload of over 300 full-time employees, allowing our teams to focus on more complex and valuable customer conversations.

Our ambition remains clear: to be the reference bank-insurer in all our home markets. We pursue that goal not only through a strong, customer-focused business model, but above all thanks to the trust placed in us by our customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders. That trust means a lot to us – and I want to thank you sincerely for it.’

Johan Thijs
Chief Executive Office

Attachments

• 2q2025-pb-en
• 2q2025-quarterly-report-en