KBC Groupe : Publication of transparency notification received by KBC Group NV

Press release

Outside trading hours - Regulated information*

Brussels, 18 April 2018, 08 h CEST

Publication of transparency notification(s) received by KBC Group NV

(art. 14, 1st section of the Act of 2 May 2007 concerning the disclosure of significant participations)

Summary of the notification(s)

KBC Group NV has received a transparency notification dd. 13 April 2018, which states that BlackRock Inc. has crossed the reporting threshold of 5% (voting rights, excluding equivalent financial instruments) downwards.

Content of the notification(s)

The notification(s) contain(s) following information:

•  Reason for the notification(s): acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights

•  Notification(s) by: BlackRock Inc.

•  Persons subject to the notification requirement: see annex 1

•  Date(s) on which the threshold is crossed: 12 April 2018

•  Threshold that is crossed: 5%

  (KBC Group's Articles of Association set a notification threshold of 3% of the total number of voting rights. In addition, the legal thresholds of 5% or any multiple thereof also apply)

•  Denominator (number of shares KBC Group NV): 418 597 567

•  Notified details: see annex 1

•  Chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held:

  See "11: Full chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held" in the PDF-file onwww.kbc.com(see below).

•  The relevant notification(s) is (are) available atwww.kbc.com> Investor relations > Shareholder information > Shareholder structure.

For more information, please contact:

Kurt De Baenst, General Manager, Investor Relations, KBC Group E-mail:investor.relations@kbc.be

Viviane Huybrecht, General Manager, Corporate Communication/Spokesperson, KBC Group E-mail:pressofficekbc@kbc.be

Annex 1

Notification dd. 13 April 2018

A) Voting rights

Holders of voting rights

Previous notification

# of voting rights

BlackRock, Inc.

BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V.

BlackRock (Singapore) Limited

BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited

BlackRock Advisors, LLC

BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited

BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG

BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited

BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.

BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.

BlackRock Fund Advisors

BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association

BlackRock International Limited

BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited

BlackRock Investment Management, LLC

BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.

Subtotal

TOTAL

20.982.248

1.832.002

1.772.617

3.938.003 3.798.707

7.696.298

283.256 120.919

134.597 78.602

557.802 609.032

35.255 11.328

18.286

95.544

0

0

B) Equivalent financial instrumentsHolders of equivalent financial instrumentsType of financial instrumentAfter the transaction

BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited

Securities LentSecurities Lent

BlackRock Advisors (UK) LimitedContract For Difference

BlackRock Advisors, LLC

Contract For Difference

BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.

Contract For Difference

BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association

Contract For Difference

BlackRock International Limited

Contract For Difference

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited

Contract For Difference

BlackRock Investment Management, LLC

Contract For Difference

BlackRock Investment Management, LLC

Depository Receipt

TOTALExpiration dateExercise period or date