The Belgian parent of Irish bank IIB has ruled itself out of any consolidation of the sector in Ireland following a 57 per cent rise in net profits last year.
KBC's head of banking, André Bergen, said its Irish operations, while small in an overall group context, had performed well.
"They have been turning in a consistently good performance and are a dynamic part of the institution," he said.
However, he said, Ireland was not a "high focus" in terms of group development and was unlikely to see significant capital investment. "We will not, for instance, be buying any Irish bank," he said.
Apart from IIB Bank, which last month announced pre-tax profits of €100 million, accounting for about 5 per cent of group net profit, KBC also operates an asset management business, KBCAM, and an IFSC unit.
Shares in the group dipped despite the results which were slightly ahead of company forecasts. Analysts said that capital gains masked a disappointing top line performance, especially on the insurance side. They also pointed to a lower-than-expected dividend as indicating a difficult year ahead.
Fourth-quarter net profit jumped 115 per cent to €557 million, taking full-year net profit to €1.758 billion, both slightly ahead of average estimates.
"I have the feeling that, top-line, it's a bit disappointing both in banking and insurance," ING's Johan van der Lugt said. - (Additional reporting, Reuters)
