KBC Group (KBC) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• 3Q26 net result was €1,142m; 9M26 net profit reached €2,851m, up 11% YoY.

• Commercial performance was strong across banking, insurance and asset management; 9M core customer money inflows were €10.6bn despite a €0.8bn 3Q outflow, excluding FX.

• Organic loan growth reached 7% YoY by 9M, exceeding FY26 guidance; CET1 was 14.6%.

Financial highlights

• 3Q NII was €1,774m, up 1% QoQ excluding lower inflation-linked bond income and 16% YoY; net interest margin was 2.17%.

• Net fee and commission income reached a record €773m, up 2% QoQ and 9% YoY; asset-management AUM was €330bn, up 13% YoY.

• 3Q insurance service result was €158m (€86m non-life, €72m life); non-life sales rose 9% YoY.

• Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were €1,246m, up 3% QoQ and 9% YoY; loan loss impairment was a €114m charge.

• 3Q total income was €3,467m, up 1% QoQ and 14% YoY; income growth exceeded cost growth by at least 50 bps versus guidance.

Outlook and guidance

• FY26 guidance: NII ~€7.05bn, total income growth ~11%, organic loan growth at least 6%, and insurance revenue growth ~9%.

• FY26 expense-growth guidance is ~7.7% reported and ~3.4% organic; 9M like-for-like growth was 3.7%.

• FY26 cost/income ratio guidance is ~40% excluding bank and insurance taxes; non-life combined ratio below 91% and credit cost ratio well below 25–30 bps.

• 2028 targets include total income CAGR of at least 7.7%, NII CAGR at least 8.6%, insurance revenue CAGR at least 7.5%, expense growth below 4.3%, and cost/income below 38%.

• Updated 2028 and 2029 guidance is due February 11, 2027; a parallel 25 bps rate shift implies ~€60m impact on the current book.