KBC Groupe NV

Major Shareholding Notification • Oct 3, 2018

Press release

Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

Brussels, 3 October 2018, 18h00 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. 28 September 2018, which – as a result – states that BlackRock Inc. has crossed the reporting threshold of 5% (total voting rights and equivalent financial instruments) upwards (to 5.01%).

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: 27 September 2018
• Threshold that is crossed: 5% (upwards) (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 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 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. 28 September 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	2 091 264	1 930 141		0,46%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	279 058	286 016		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	142 877	142 877		0,03%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1 562 221	1 695 279		0,41%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	14 874	4 958		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	36 863	36 958		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3 679 351	3 669 317		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3 456 129	3 411 981		0,82%
BlackRock International Limited	62 468	62 468		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	72 492	71 072		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	8 140 352	8 089 084		1,94%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	578 164	556 162		0,13%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	399 517	670 795		0,16%
Subtotal	20 565 806	20 677 284		4,97%
TOTAL		20 677 284	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			3 039	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			69 237	0,02%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference			211	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Contract For Difference			40 848	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	Depositary Receipts			26	0,00%	cash
	TOTAL			163 234	0,04%

TOTAL (A & B)		# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	20 840 518	5,01%