KBC announces state aid repayments

KBC has announced the accelerated full repayment of €3bn of state aid to the Belgian Federal Government in December 2012, plus a 15 percent premium amounting to €450m, the Investegate website reports.. The National Bank of Belgium authorised the repayment on 4 December 2012. The repayment to the Federal government will be effected on 17 December 2012. KBC will work towards repaying €1.17bn of state aid to the Flemish Regional Government, plus the 50 premium amounting to €580m, in the first half of 2013. The repayment will be subject to customary approval from the National Bank of Belgium. KBC is committed to repaying the remaining outstanding balance of €2.33bn issued to the Flemish Regional government in seven equal instalments of €330m (plus premium) over the 2014-2020 period, as agreed with the European Commission. KBC however has the option to further accelerate these repayments. Since receiving state aid during the financial crisis, KBC has significantly enhanced its capital base, both organically and through asset divestments. With today's announced repayments and capital plan, KBC will honour its prior commitment to the European Commission to repay a notional amount of €4.67bn of state aid before the end of 2013 ahead of schedule, while ranking among the best capitalised European banks.