The National Bank of Belgium’s Council of Regency has approved the Bank’s 2024 annual accounts, which show a loss of EUR 3.679 billion, and confirmed that no fixed or variable dividend will be paid for FY2024. The independent auditor issued an unqualified opinion. The loss was driven mainly by net interest expense of EUR 3.999 billion, reflecting higher interest paid on credit institutions’ deposits while monetary policy portfolios largely comprise longer-term assets acquired when yields were low, alongside a deterioration in the net result of financial operations. The latter was affected in particular by losses on sales of securities from the statutory investment portfolio undertaken to comply with the ceiling set under Council of Regency rules, as well as increased capital losses on euro-denominated securities held for monetary policy purposes and slightly higher unrealised losses on US dollar-denominated securities. Under the Bank’s reserve policy, EUR 803.8 million was drawn from the available reserve and EUR 2.3223 billion from the reserve fund, with the remaining EUR 552.9 million carried forward, leaving the Bank’s reserves fully depleted and resulting in no allocation to the State. The Bank also indicated it will proceed to sell securities from its statutory investment portfolio to comply with the applicable ceiling.
National Bank of Belgium 2025-03-26
National Bank of Belgium approves FY2024 accounts with a EUR 3.679 billion loss and no dividend
The National Bank of Belgium reported a EUR 3.679 billion loss for 2024, driven by net interest expenses and losses on securities sales, resulting in no dividends for the year. The Bank's reserves were fully depleted, drawing EUR 803.8 million from available reserves and EUR 2.3223 billion from the reserve fund. An unqualified opinion was issued by the independent auditor.