Finance
KBC fourth quarter profit narrowly beats consensus
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 12, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 12, 2026
KBC reported a €1 billion profit for Q4, beating the €973 million expected by analysts, driven by higher net interest and trading income.
Feb 10 (Reuters) - KBC reported fourth quarter net income of 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion), narrowly beating the 973 million euros analysts had expected in a consensus compiled by the company.
"Our total income benefited from several factors, including higher net interest income, an increase in trading & fair value income, increased insurance revenues and higher net fee and commission income," the Belgian bank and insurance group said in a press release on Thursday.
Quarterly net interest income (NII) - the spread between the interest earned on loans and interest paid to depositors - grew by 12% on the year, bringing KBC's full year total NII to 6.1 billion euros, ahead of its previous target of 5.95 billion.
The lender also set new medium and long-term targets. Total income for 2026 is projected to grow at least 9.9% year-on-year and net interest income is expected to be 6.73 billion euros or more.
By the end of 2028, the group aims to achieve a cost-to-income ratio below 38% and generate a total income of at least 7.7% higher.
KBC proposed a dividend of 5.1 euros per share for 2025, bringing its pay-out ratio to 60% of its yearly net profit, at the upper end of its guidance.
($1 = 0.8431 euros)
(Reporting by Jakob Van Calster)
Net income is the total profit of a company after all expenses, taxes, and costs have been deducted from total revenue. It is a key indicator of a company's profitability.
Trading and fair value income refer to profits earned from trading financial instruments and the changes in the value of assets held by a company, respectively.
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