KBC Groupe NV

Major Shareholding Notification • Feb 17, 2016

Press release Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

Brussels, 17 February 2016, 18 h

Publication of a transparency notification 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

KBC Group NV has received a transparency notification dated 15 February 2016, which states that BlackRock Inc., as a result of a net sale of shares, now has 4.94% of the voting rights in KBC Group NV and as a consequence crossed the reporting threshold of 5% downwards.

Content of the notification

The notification contains following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights
• Notification by: BlackRock Inc (a parent undertaking or a controlling person)
• Persons subject to the notification requirement: see annex 1
• Date on which the threshold is crossed: 9 February 2016
• Threshold that is crossed downwards: 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): 418 087 058
• Notified details: see annex 1
• Chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held: BlackRock Inc. is the ultimate controller but the legal entities detailed in annex 1 are the discretionary investment managers who hold the shares and exercise the voting rights.
• The relevant notification are available at www.kbc.com > Investor relations > Shareholder information > Shareholder structure.

For more information, please contact:

Wim Allegaert, General Manager, Investor Relations, KBC Group Tel + 32 2 429 50 51 – E-mail: wim.allegaert@kbc.be

Viviane Huybrecht, General Manager, Corporate Communication/Spokesperson, KBC Group Tel + 32 2 429 85 45 – 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

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Annex 1:

A) Stemrechten Voting rights	Vorige notificatie (aantal stemrechten) Previous notification (number of voting	Na de transactie After the transaction
	rights)	Aantal stemrechten Number of voting rights		% van stemrechten % of voting rights
		Gelinked aan effecten Linked to securities	Niet gelinked aan effecten Not linked to securities	Gelinked aan effecten Linked to securities	Niet gelinked aan effecten Not linked to securities
BlackRock, Inc	0	0	-	0.00%	-
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	598 247	606 505	-	0.15%	-
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	299 027	295 900	-	0.07%	-
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	99 068	99 025	-	0.02%	-
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	892 840	1 074 157	-	0.26%	-
BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited	781 522	831 178	-	0.20%	-
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	1 804	1 804	-	0.00%	-
BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG	1 219	1 219	-	0.00%	-
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	524 845	537 378	-	0.13%	-
BlackRock Fund Advisors	2 886 645	3 091 122	-	0.74%	-
BlackRock Fund Managers Limited	1 449 946	1 482 987	-	0.35%	-
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3 601 325	3 674 886	-	0.88%	-
BlackRock International Limited	307 537	315 407	-	0.08%	-
BlackRock Investment Management LLC	1 022 044	386 107	-	0.09%	-
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	66 825	66 281	-	0.02%	-
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	1 930 654	1 944 805	-	0.47%	-
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd	423 667	428 376	-	0.10%	-
BlackRock Life Limited	816 309	799 286	-	0.19%	-
BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A.	4 903 019	4 720 656	-	1.13%	-
BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V.	176 082	178 345	-	0.04%	-
iShares (DE) Investmentaktien gesellschaft mit Teilvermögen	152 257	115 356	-	0.03%	-
Totaal Total	20 934 882	20 650 780	-	4.94%	-
Adressen: zie formulier op www.kbc.com / Addresses: see forms on www.kbc.com B) Equivalente Geen
financiële instru None menten (equivalent financial instruments)