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. 16 October 2018 and dd. 17 October 2018, which – as a result – state that BlackRock Inc. has crossed the reporting threshold of 5% (total voting rights and equivalent financial instruments) upwards.

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: 15 October 2018 and 16 October 2018
Threshold that is crossed: 5% upwards ( 'total voting rights and equivalent financial instruments) (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 16 October 2018, the number of KBC-shares with voting rights and equivalent financial instruments owned by BlackRock amounted to 5.01% and 0.06%, 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: [email protected]

Viviane Huybrecht, General Manager, Corporate Communication/Spokesperson, KBC Group E-mail: [email protected]

* 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:[email protected] KBC press releases are available at www.kbc.com or can be obtained by sending an e-mail to [email protected]

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

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Annex Notification dd. 16 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		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	1 850 032	1 749 528		0,42%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	285 387	274 433		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	99 763	100 379		0,02%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1 658 550	1 654 413		0,40%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	2 265	2 265		0,00%
BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.	2	0		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	53 810	53 819		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3 671 422	3 668 418		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3 413 574	3 404 886		0,82%
BlackRock International Limited	59 019	59 019		0,01%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	69 241	69 241		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	8 134 186	8 093 357		1,95%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	588 460	588 450		0,14%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	368 821	938 932		0,23%
Subtotal	20 304 708	20 707 316		4,98%
TOTAL		20 707 316	0	4,98%	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 Asset Management Canada Limited	Securities Lent		38 970	0,01%	physical
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference		1 350	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	Contract For Difference		44 219	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. Contract For Difference			4 042	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	Contract For Difference		48 952	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%
TOTAL		174 325	0,04%

TOTAL (A & B)		# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	20 881 641	5,02%

Notification dd.17 October 2018

A) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	# of voting rights		# of voting rights	% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Not linked to the Linked to securities 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	1 749 528	1 835 319		0,44%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	274 433	274 433		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	100 379	100 379		0,02%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1 654 413	1 654 413		0,40%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	2 265	2 648		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	53 819	58 174		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3 668 418	3 674 610		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3 404 886	3 404 886		0,82%
BlackRock International Limited	59 019	59 019		0,01%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited	69 241	69 241		0,02%
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited	8 093 357	8 095 246		1,95%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	588 450	589 165		0,14%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	938 932	985 770		0,24%
Subtotal	20 707 316	20 853 479		5,01%
TOTAL		20 853 479	0	5,01%	0,00%

Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument	# of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	Securities Lent	38 970	0,01%	physical
BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited	Contract For Difference	1 350	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	Contract For Difference	44 219	0,01%	cash
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. Contract For Difference		4 042	0,00%	cash
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	Contract For Difference	123 023	0,03%	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
	TOTAL	248 370	0,06%

TOTAL (A & B)		# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	21 101 849	5,07%

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