Fnality, a fintech firm building tokenized versions of major currencies collateralized by cash held at central banks, has raised $136 million in a Series C round to expand its blockchain-based wholesale payment systems, the London-based firm said Tuesday. The investment was led by WisdomTree, Bank of America, Citi, KBC Group, Temasek and Tradeweb, with existing backers including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays also participating. Fnality raised $95 million in 2023, a round led by Goldman and BNP Paribas. ...

Referring to KBC Group’s earlier and repeated statements about its strategy, we remain committed to pursuing financially sound and sustainable growth. We are continuously monitoring the market to identify opportunities that strengthen our unique digital-first bank-insurance group. Currently, we are only studying a potential acquisition of the State-backed Belgian Insurance company, Ethias NV. Attachment ...

Referring to KBC Group’s earlier and repeated statements about its strategy, we remain committed to pursuing financially sound and sustainable growth. We are continuously monitoring the market to identify opportunities that strengthen our unique digital-first bank-insurance group. Currently, we are only studying a potential acquisition of the State-backed Belgian Insurance company, Ethias NV. Attachment 20250922-pb-reaction-kbc-en ...

Core Viewpoint - KBC Group is considering acquiring ABN Amro Bank to enhance its presence in the European market [1] Company Summary - KBC Group is a Belgian lender exploring the acquisition of its Dutch competitor, ABN Amro Bank [1] - The potential acquisition is aimed at strengthening KBC's European footprint [1] Industry Summary - The move reflects ongoing consolidation trends within the European banking sector as institutions seek to expand their market share [1]

Belgium’s KBC Group is exploring a potential acquisition of Dutch rival ABN Amro to expand in Europe https://t.co/RmAh2WVsVC ...

Core Insights - Venbrook and Cognizant have formed an alliance to enhance the insurance claims process for property and casualty carriers using AI technology [1][3] - The collaboration aims to optimize the entire claims processing life cycle, leading to cost savings and improved efficiency for insurance carriers [1][4] Group 1: Partnership Details - Cognizant will provide services to Venbrook, including claims processing, financial operations, policy administration, and compliance processing, supported by Venbrook's network of licensed adjusters [2] - The solution integrates Venbrook's claims handling expertise with Cognizant's AI technologies to transform operations and improve customer experience for both carriers and policyholders [3][4] Group 2: Technological Innovations - The AI-driven solution is designed to automate complex tasks, manage workflows, and generate customer communications that comply with standards [4] - Predictive analytics will be utilized to enhance decision-making processes, support early fraud detection, and scale operations during peak periods [4] Group 3: Leadership Perspectives - Venbrook's CEO, Jason Turner, emphasized the importance of their joint expertise in addressing critical challenges within the claims process, aiming to reduce costs and improve accuracy for better customer experience [5]

Core Points - KBC Ancora reported a profit of EUR 315.4 million for the financial year 2024/2025, down from EUR 368.3 million in the previous year, translating to EUR 4.10 per share [2][5] - The company distributed a gross interim dividend of EUR 3.51 per share on June 5, 2025, and will not pay a final dividend [2][5] - The net asset value of KBC Ancora shares is 1.0066 times the price of KBC Group shares, with a net debt position of EUR 0.93 per share as of June 30, 2025 [6][7] Financial Results - Total income for the financial year was EUR 322.9 million, primarily from dividends received from KBC Group (EUR 321.7 million) and interest income (EUR 1.2 million) [5] - Total expenses amounted to EUR 7.5 million, consisting of operating costs (EUR 3.2 million) and financial expenses (EUR 4.3 million) [5] - In the second half of the financial year, KBC Ancora recorded a profit of EUR 241.5 million, or EUR 3.14 per share, compared to EUR 295.4 million in the same period the previous year [11] Balance Sheet and Assets - As of June 30, 2025, total assets stood at EUR 3.63 billion, an increase of EUR 29.3 million from the previous year [16] - The number of KBC Group shares held by KBC Ancora remained unchanged at 77,516,380, with a book value of EUR 46.44 per share [17] - The company’s debt decreased by EUR 15.8 million compared to the previous financial year, primarily due to repayments of a credit facility [18] Future Outlook - KBC Ancora anticipates costs within the cost-sharing agreement with Cera to be approximately EUR 2.5 million for the financial year 2025/2026 [19] - Total interest charges for the upcoming financial year are estimated at around EUR 4.1 million, with other operating costs likely to be about EUR 1.0 million [19] - The company plans to distribute an interim dividend of EUR 1.00 per share in November 2025, in line with its dividend policy [21]

Core Insights - KBC Group reported a strong net profit of 1,018 million euros in Q2 2025, marking an increase from 546 million euros in Q1 2025 and 925 million euros in Q2 2024, driven by higher net interest income and improved trading income [1] - The net profit for the first half of 2025 reached 1,564 million euros, reflecting a 9% increase compared to the same period in 2024 [4] Financial Performance - Basic earnings per share rose to 2.50 euros in Q2 2025 from 1.32 euros in Q1 2025 and 2.25 euros in Q2 2024 [1] - The breakdown of net results by business unit showed Belgium contributing 607 million euros, the Czech Republic 240 million euros, and International Markets 237 million euros in Q2 2025 [1] Loan and Deposit Growth - The loan portfolio expanded by 2% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year, while customer deposits (excluding volatile short-term deposits) also increased by 2% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year [2] Operating Expenses and Credit Quality - Operating expenses decreased significantly from the previous quarter due to the recording of bank and insurance taxes, while excluding these taxes, expenses rose by 2% quarter-on-quarter [3] - Loan loss impairment charges increased, but the credit cost ratio for the first half of 2025 remained favorable at 15 basis points, below the through-the-cycle value of 25-30 basis points [3] Solvency and Liquidity - KBC Group maintained a strong solvency position with a fully loaded common equity ratio under Basel IV of 14.6% as of June 2025, alongside a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of 157% and a net stable funding ratio (NSFR) of 135% [5] Dividend and Guidance - The company announced an interim dividend of 1 euro per share to be paid in November 2025 and raised its guidance for net interest income for the full year 2025 to at least 5.85 billion euros, up from 5.7 billion euros [5] Digital Innovation - KBC Group continues to lead in digital innovation, with 5.7 million customers using its digital assistant, Kate, which autonomously resolves 70% of customer queries, equivalent to the workload of over 300 full-time employees [6] Strategic Ambition - The company aims to be the reference bank-insurer in its home markets, focusing on a customer-centric business model and the trust placed in it by stakeholders [7]

Core Insights - KBC's fully loaded Common Equity Tier-1 (CET1) ratio is projected to increase from 14.56% at year-end 2024 to 17.22% at year-end 2027 under the base scenario of the 2025 EU-wide stress test [2] - In the adverse scenario, KBC's CET1 ratio is expected to decrease to 11.82% at year-end 2027, which is an improvement compared to the 2023 EBA stress test results [2][3] - The stress test results provide insights into KBC's capital requirements under various economic scenarios, reinforcing the company's strong fundamentals and ability to remain well-capitalized [3][4] Stress Test Overview - The 2025 EU-wide stress test conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA) does not have a pass-fail threshold but serves as a critical source of information for the supervisory review process (SREP) [4] - The adverse scenario covers a three-year horizon from 2025 to 2027 and is based on a static balance sheet assumption as of December 2024, not accounting for future business strategies [5] - The results will assist authorities in evaluating KBC's capacity to meet prudential requirements under stressed conditions [4][5]

Regulated information, Leuven, 2 June 2025 (17.40 hrs CEST) Announcement of the total number of voting rights as at 31 May 2025 In application of Article 15 of the Act of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of major shareholdings in issuers whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market, KBC Ancora publishes on its website and via a press release on a monthly basis the total capital, the movements in the total number of voting shares and the total number of voting rights, in so far as these particulars ...