KBC Group mulls on costs

The parent of KBC Ireland says “no reliable estimate can be made” currently on the size of the impact of Covid-19 on its credit costs. Belgium-based KBC Group said in its trading update for the first quarter that the combination of a number of market-driven factors, such as sharply lower stockmarkets, widening credit spreads and lower long-term interest rates, will have a negative impact on the fair value of financial instruments at the bank of close to €400m.

“No reliable estimate can be made at this point on the size of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our credit costs, because a number of events such as the length and depth of the downturn of the economy and legislative actions that are being taken by authorities in our different home markets may have an impact on our assessment of future loan losses,” it said.