The insurance service result (insurance revenues before reinsurance – insurance service expenses before reinsurance + net result from reinsurance contracts held) amounted to EUR 166 million, compared to EUR 142 million recorded in the previous quarter and EUR 125 million in the year-earlier quarter. The insurance service result for the quarter under review breaks down into EUR 107 million for non-life insurance and EUR 59 million for life insurance. The non-life insurance combined ratio for full-year 2025 came to an excellent 87%, compared to 90% for full-year 2024. Sales of non-life insurance products grew by 11% year-on-year, while life insurance sales were up 26% on the level recorded in the previous quarter and up 46% on their level in the year-earlier quarter.
Trading & fair value income and insurance finance income and expense was up EUR 41 million and EUR 52 million on the figure for the previous and year-earlier quarters, respectively. Net other income was below its normal run rate.
Operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes were up 7% quarter-on-quarter and 2% year-on-year. Bank and insurance taxes were slightly up (by EUR 2 million) on the previous quarter but down EUR 4 million on the year-earlier figure. Full-year 2025 operating expenses excluding bank and insurance taxes rose by 2.8% (or 2.5% excluding forex effects) compared to full-year 2024, in line with the guidance. The cost/income ratio for full-year 2025 came to 46%, compared to 47% for full-year 2024. In that calculation, certain non-operating items have been excluded. When excluding all bank and insurance taxes, the cost/income ratio for full-year 2025 amounted to 41%, compared to 43% for full-year 2024.
Income tax expenses amounted to EUR 285 million, compared to EUR 267 million in the previous quarter and a positive EUR 96 million in the last quarter of 2024. The latter quarter had been impacted by a one-off tax benefit of EUR 318 million related to the exit from Ireland.
The Group’s liquidity position remained strong, with an LCR of 159% and NSFR of 138%. Its capital base remained robust, with an unfloored fully loaded common equity ratio of 14.9% (which includes the impact of the proposed dividend payment).
“We recorded an excellent net profit of EUR 1 003 million in the last quarter of 2025. Compared to the previous quarter, 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, clearly illustrating our strong income diversification. On a full-year basis, total income rose by 9%, well above our guided figure”, commented Johan Thijs, Chief Executive Officer.
KBC Group also announced that it will award an extraordinary collective bonus to all employees working within the Group’s core banking and insurance activities across its key markets. With this decision, KBC acknowledges the strong performance in 2025 and the central role employees across all markets made in
achieving it.
According to the Group, 2025 was an exceptional year for KBC. The Group continued to strengthen its position as a leading, digitally driven financial institution, consistently earning international recognition for innovation, customer experience and digital leadership.
“KBC Group delivered robust results in a challenging environment”, said Johan Thijs. “Behind every result stands a colleague who gave their very best”, the CEO added.
The extraordinary bonus represents a total cost of EUR 25 million. The bonus is non-recurring, fully linked to the 2025 performance year.
The full report on 4Q2025 results can be found here.
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