KBC Groupe NV

Major Shareholding Notification • Dec 2, 2016

Press release

Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

Brussels, 2December 2016, 18 h

Publication of a transparency notification 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

KBC Group NV has received a transparency notification dated 23 November 2016, which states that FMR LLC (Fidelity), as a result of a net purchase of shares, now has 3,02% of the voting rights in KBC Group NV and as a consequence crossed the reporting threshold of 3%.

Content of the notification

The notification contains following information:

• Reason for the notification: acquisition or disposal of voting securities or voting rights
• Notification by: FMR LLC (Fidelity)
• Persons subject to the notification requirement: see annex 1
• Date on which the threshold is crossed: 18 November 2016
• Threshold that is crossed: 3%

(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: "The holdings attributable to FMR LLC arise from holdings of various undertakings for collective investment that are managed by FMR Co, Inc, Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company, FMR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED, FIDELITY MANAGEMENT TRUST COMPANY and FIAM LLC, each of which are entities that are subsidiaries of and controlled by FMR LLC. These undertakings for collective investment have granted FMR LLC discretionary power to vote the securities in accordance with the FMR LLC board proxy voting policy. FMR LLC is not a controlled undertaking."
• The relevant notification is 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	Vorige notif icatie	Na de transactie
Voting rights	(aantal stemrechten) Previous notification (number of voting rights)	After the transaction
		Aantal stemrechten		% v an stemrechten
		Number of voting rights		% of voting rights
		Gelinked aan	Niet gelinked aan	Gelinked aan	Niet gelinked
		ef f ecten	ef f ecten	ef f ecten	aan ef f ecten
		Linked to	Not linked to	Linked to securities	Not linked to
		securities	securities		securities
FMR LLC	12 312 076	0	-	0,00%	-
FMR Co., Inc.		9 043 731	-	2,16%	-
Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company		880 815	-	0,21%	-
FIAM LLC		926 232	-	0,22%	-
FMR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED		1 761 413	-	0,42%	-
FIDELITY MANAGEMENT TRUST COMPANY		16 652	-	0,00%	-
Totaal Total	12 312 076	12 628 843	-	3,02%	-
B) Equiv alente f inanciële instru menten (equivalent financial instruments)			Geen None