Holding in Company

Provident Financial PLC
13 December 2000

Schedule 10 - Notification of Major Interests in Shares

1   Name of company:
Provident Financial plc

2   Name of shareholder having a major interest:
FMR Corporation and its direct and indirect subsidiaries 
Fidelity International Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries


3   Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of
holding of the shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a non-beneficial
interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is a holding of that
person's spouse or children under the age of 18:
Non-beneficial interest of persons referred to in 2 above.

4   Name of registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the number of
shares held by each of them:
Registered Shareholder                           Shares held
----------------------                           -----------
State Street Nominees Limited                         24,700
Chase Nominees Limited                               600,000
State Street Nominees Ltd                             40,000
Bank of New York Europe                               27,900
Lloyds Bank Nominees Limited                         178,400
Nortrust Nominees                                     14,800
Clydesdale Bank (Head Office) Nominees Limited     5,595,100
Bankers Trust                                        619,014
Citibank                                             114,926
BT Globenet Nominees Ltd                              88,500
MSS Nominees Ltd                                      68,150
Chase Nominees Ltd                                   782,795
HSBC Client Holdings Nominees (UK) Limited           177,108
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                502,321
Gracechurch Nominees                                  24,000
RBS Trust Bank                                       200,550
MSS Nominees Ltd                                   2,005,619
Chase Nominees Ltd                                   371,900
Clydesdale Bank (Head Office) Nominees Limited       503,591
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                793,678
Bankers Trust                                        399,940
Mellon Trust                                         165,100
RBS Trust Bank                                     1,920,599
Morgan Stanley                                       159,800
NAB-Australia                                         78,772
State Street Bank & Trust                            507,368
Credit Suisse                                          7,600
KAS Associatie                                        40,100
Bank of New York Europe                              363,722
RBS-EDINBURG                                          52,400
Northern Trust                                       838,600
Citibank                                              37,038
National Australia Bank                                4,300
HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Limited             17,000
BT Globenet Nominees Ltd                              72,400



5   Number of shares/amount of stock acquired:
2,224,531

6   Percentage of issued class:
0.89%

7   Number of shares/amount of stock disposed:
-

8   Percentage of issued class:
-

9   Class of security:
10 4/11p ordinary

10  Date of transaction:
11 December 2000 

11  Date company informed:
11 December 2000 

12  Total holding following this notification:
17,397,791

13  Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification:
7.01%

14  Contact name for queries:
Mrs R J Marshall Smith

15 Contact telephone number:
01274 731111 extension 2310

16  Name of company official responsible for making notification:
Mrs R J Marshall Smith

17  Date of notification:
13 December 2000 





Additional Information: