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# KBC third-quarter profit rises to 1.142 billion euros as loan growth beats its plan
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/kbc-third-quarter-profit-rises-to-1-142-billion-euros-as-loan-growth-beats-its-plan/
- Published: 2026-11-12T09:42:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-12T11:06:36.000Z
- Description: KBC Group earned 1.142 billion euros in the third quarter, or 2.80 euros a share, and said organic lending had already passed its guidance for 2026.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Banking News, Europe, #newsroom, #needs-photo

[KBC Group](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/rankings/)'s net profit rose year on year to 1.142 billion euros in the third quarter of 2026, or 2.80 euros a share, the group reported on Thursday. Earnings per share were up from 2.44 euros a year earlier and only slightly below the 2.83 euros of the second quarter.

Net profit for the first nine months of the year was up 11% on the same period of 2025\. The group called the quarter's result "excellent" and said organic loan growth had already passed its guidance for the whole of 2026, with a fuller update on targets due in February.

## WHERE THE PROFIT CAME FROM

Against the second quarter, KBC said total income benefited from higher insurance revenues, net fee and commission income, trading and fair value income and net interest income, excluding a significantly lower contribution from inflation-linked bonds. Net other income fell, as did dividend income after its seasonal peak in the second quarter.

[Belgium](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/market-belgium/) was the largest business unit, followed by International Markets and the Czech Republic, and all three earned more than in the third quarter of 2025, according to the group's breakdown of the net result. International Markets also improved on the previous quarter, while Belgium and the Czech Republic slipped back from their second-quarter levels.

Loans grew organically by 2% on the quarter and 7% on the year. Deposits fell organically by 1% on the quarter, which the bank put down to seasonality, retail government bond issues and shifts into asset management products, but rose 3% on the year.

## COSTS, CREDIT AND CAPITAL

Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes rose 3% on the quarter, though KBC said that on a year-to-date, like-for-like basis they remained in line with its full-year 2026 guidance. Insurance service expenses rose, while total impairment charges were largely unchanged from the second quarter. The credit cost ratio for the first nine months improved to 12 basis points, excluding a reserve for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties and the acquisition of 365.bank.

The common equity ratio, unfloored and fully loaded under Basel IV, stood at 14.6% at the end of September, with a liquidity coverage ratio of 157% and a net stable funding ratio of 131%. Parent shareholders' equity per share rose to 66.1 euros from 60.8 euros a year earlier, and KBC paid an interim dividend of 1 euro last week as an advance on its 2026 payout.

## DIGITAL SERVICE

KBC said its digital assistant, Kate, has reached 6.4 million customers across its core countries and now resolves more than 75% of customer questions without human help. The group will extend its full-year results call on Thursday 11 February 2027 with an event on its digital transformation, leading to new financial and non-financial guidance.

## THE TGB VIEW

KBC Group ranks 27th among Europe's largest banks in the TGB Bank Rankings, with US$466.9 billion of total assets and a 2025 return on equity of 12.8%, just above ING Group's 12.7% and just behind Erste Group's 13.3%. In Belgium, where the five largest lenders held 74.4% of sector assets in 2025, KBC's return was well ahead of the 8.9% at state-owned Belfius. With organic loan growth already past this year's guidance, the date to watch is 11 February 2027, when KBC is due to give new financial and non-financial guidance.

*Related: [Belgium's KBC Group books €1.15 billion Q2 profit and raises full-year 2026 guidance](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/belgiums-kbc-group-books-1-15-billion-q2-profit-and-raises-full-year-2026-guidance/)*