EC Approves KBC Group's Amendments to 2009 Plan
KBC Group has received approval from the European Commission (EC) to amend its 2009 strategic plan and to divest its banking (Kredyt Bank) and insurance activities (Warta) in Poland and sell or unwind selected asset backed security (ABS) and collateralised debt obligation (CDO) assets, instead of floating minority stakes of CSOB Bank (Czech Republic) and of K&H Bank (Hungary) and selling and leasing back its headquarter offices in Belgium.
Jan Vanhevel, KBC Group chief executive officer (CEO), welcomed this decision: “KBC prepared the application with great diligence following an open and constructive dialogue with the EC. We are grateful to the EC and to the Belgian authorities for considering the changed (regulatory) environment with which we were confronted and which prompted us to proactively propose alternative measures. The new measures are expected to release the same amount of capital as the originally intended measures and will help us to repay the state aid in a timely manner as agreed with the EC, without jeopardising the fundamentals of our strategy.”
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