KBC Groupe NV

Major Shareholding Notification • Oct 10, 2018

Press release Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

Brussels, 10 October 2018, 8h00 CEST

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

(art. 14, 1 st 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. 5 October 2018 and dd. 8 October 2018, which – as a result – state that BlackRock Inc. has crossed the reporting threshold of 5% (total voting rights) first upwards and then 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
• Date(s) on which the threshold is crossed: 4 October 2018 and 5 October 2018
• Threshold that is crossed: 5% (first upwards and then downwards) (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): 415 897 567
• Notified details: see annex. As a consequence, on 5 October 2018, the number of KBC-shares with voting rights and equivalent financial instruments owned by BlackRock amounted to 4.97% and 0.03%, respectively, of the total number of KBC-shares.
• 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 on www.kbc.com (see below).
• The relevant notification(s) is (are) available at www.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

* This press release contains information provided in compliance with European transparency legislation for listed companies. KBC Group NV is listed at NYSE Brussels.

KBC Group NV Havenlaan 2 – 1080 Brussels Viviane Huybrecht General Manager, Corporate Communication/ Spokesperson Tel. + 32 2 429 85 45

Press Office Tel. + 32 2 429 65 01 Tel. + 32 2 429 29 15 Fax + 32 2 429 81 60 E-mail:pressofficekbc@kbc.be KBC press releases are available at www.kbc.com or can be obtained by sending an e-mail to pressofficekbc@kbc.be

Check this document's authenticity at www.kbc.com/en/authenticity .

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Annex Notification dd. 05 October 2018

A) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	# of voting rights		# of voting rights	% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Linked to securities	Not linked to the securities	Linked to securities	Not linked to the securities
BlackRock, Inc.	0	0		0,00%
BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V.	38.966	38.966		0,01%
BlackRock (Singapore) Limited	11.210	11.210		0,00%
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	1.930.141	2.067.799		0,50%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	286.016	285.660		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	142.877	139.349		0,03%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1.695.279	1.691.222		0,41%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	4.958	4.930		0,00%
BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.	0	14		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	36.958	41.081		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3.669.317	3.675.705		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3.411.981	3.411.907		0,82%
BlackRock International Limited	62.468	62.933		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	71.072	69.241		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	8.089.084	8.232.313		1,98%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	556.162	554.995		0,13%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	670.795	630.554		0,15%
Subtotal	20.677.284	20.917.879		5,03%
TOTAL		20.917.879	0	5,03%	0,00%

B) Equivalent financial instruments		After the transaction
Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument	Expiration date Exercise period or date	# of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Securities Lent		1.443	0,00%	physical
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference		1.350	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	Contract For Difference		44.481	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	Contract For Difference		4.042	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	Contract For Difference		54.403	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference		211	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Contract For Difference		36.555	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Depositary Receipts		26	0,00%	cash
	TOTAL		142.511	0,03%

TOTAL (A & B)			# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	21.060.390	5,06%

Notification dd. 08 October 2018

A) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	# of voting rights	# of voting rights		% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Linked to securities	Not linked to the securities	Linked to securities	Not linked to the securities
BlackRock, Inc.	0	0		0,00%
BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V.	38.966	38.966		0,01%
BlackRock (Singapore) Limited	11.210	11.210		0,00%
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	2.067.799	1.815.025		0,44%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	285.660	285.671		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	139.349	139.349		0,03%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1.691.222	1.668.614		0,40%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	4.930	5.046		0,00%
BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.	14	0		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	41.081	94.538		0,02%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3.675.705	3.681.833		0,89%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3.411.907	3.411.907		0,82%
BlackRock International Limited	62.933	62.933		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	69.241	69.241		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	8.232.313	8.417.868		2,02%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	554.995	634.015		0,15%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	630.554	339.659		0,08%
Subtotal	20.917.879	20.675.875		4,97%
	TOTAL	20.675.875	0	4,97%	0,00%

B) Equivalent financial instruments		After the transaction
Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument		Expiration date Exercise period or date	# of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Securities Lent			1.443	0,00%	physical
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference			1.350	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	Contract For Difference			44.481	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	Contract For Difference			4.042	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	Contract For Difference			54.403	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference			211	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Contract For Difference			36.555	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Depositary Receipts			26	0,00%	cash
	TOTAL			142.511	0,03%

TOTAL (A & B)			# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	20.818.386	5,01%