Director/PDMR Shareholding

Provident Financial PLC
23 March 2006

   Notification of Transactions of Directors, Persons Discharging Managerial
                      Responsibility or Connected Persons

Pursuant to the terms of the Provident Financial Performance Share Plan, certain
matching awards of ordinary shares of 10 4/11p made to executive directors of
the company in 2003 have not vested and have today been sold by Provident
Financial Trustees (Performance Share Plan) Limited at a price of £6.89 per
share.

                                                                     Percentage 
                    Basic award                    Total beneficial   of issued 
                         shares   Matching award  holding following       share                
                         vested      shares sold           the sale     capital

Robin James Ashton        1,693            1,693             61,859      0.024%
John Arthur Harnett       3,247            3,247             39,969      0.015%
David Richard Swann       2,828            2,828             66,929      0.026%


Contact name for queries:
Rosamond Joy Marshall Smith
Tel:     [phone] extension 2356

Name of the official responsible for making notification:
Rosamond Joy Marshall Smith
General Counsel and Company Secretary

Date of notification:
23 March 2006


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