KBC Groupe NV

Major Shareholding Notification • Oct 16, 2018

Press release Outside trading hours – Regulated information*

Brussels, 16 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. 11 October 2018 and dd. 12 October 2018, which – as a result – state that BlackRock Inc. has crossed the reporting threshold of 5% (total voting rights and equivalent financial instruments) 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: 10 October 2018 and 11 October 2018
• Threshold that is crossed: 5% downwards (first only 'total voting rights', then '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 11 October 2018, the number of KBC-shares with voting rights and equivalent financial instruments owned by BlackRock amounted to 4.88% and 0.04%, 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. 11 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	1.841.218	1.964.312		0,47%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	285.387	285.387		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	132.347	138.733		0,03%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1.661.778	1.661.778		0,40%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	2.265	2.265		0,00%
BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.	55	1		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	61.432	56.014		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3.680.252	3.676.192		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3.413.574	3.413.574		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	8.332.339	8.462.020		2,03%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	602.155	591.108		0,14%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	646.270	355.656		0,09%
Subtotal	20.837.508	20.785.476		5,00%
	TOTAL	20.785.476	0	5,00%	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 Asset Management Canada Limited	Securities Lent			616	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			40.974	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			129.698	0,03%

TOTAL (A & B)		# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	20.915.174	5,03%

Notification dd. 12 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	1.964.312	1.850.032		0,44%
BlackRock Advisors, LLC	285.387	285.387		0,07%
BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited	138.733	99.763		0,02%
BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG	1.661.778	1.658.550		0,40%
BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited	2.265	2.265		0,00%
BlackRock Capital Management, Inc.	1	2		0,00%
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.	56.014	53.810		0,01%
BlackRock Fund Advisors	3.676.192	3.671.422		0,88%
BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association	3.413.574	3.413.574		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	8.462.020	8.134.186		1,96%
BlackRock Investment Management, LLC	591.108	588.460		0,14%
BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.	355.656	368.821		0,09%
Subtotal	20.785.476	20.304.708		4,88%
	TOTAL	20.304.708	0	4,88%	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 Asset Management Canada Limited	Securities Lent			39.586	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			40.974	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			168.406	0,04%

TOTAL (A & B)			# of voting rights % of voting rights
	CALCULATE	20.473.114	4,92%