Holding(s) in Company

Provident Financial PLC
12 July 2002



DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS

NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES



1) Name of company

Provident Financial plc

2) Name of shareholder having a major interest

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

holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18

Non-beneficial interest of shareholders referred to in 2 above

4) Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the

number of shares held by each of them
Chase Nominees Ltd                                             7,497,147
Chase Manhattan Bank London                                    778,800
Bankers Trust                                                  293,300
Citibank                                                       134,400
BT Globenet Nominees Ltd                                       50,900
MSS Nominees Ltd                                               49,150
Chase Nominees Ltd                                             135,700
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                          85,080
RBS Trust Bank                                                 324,647
Bank of New York London                                        279,695
HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Ltd                          152,200
MSS Nominees Ltd                                               8,205,206
Chase Nominees Ltd                                             681,460
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                          395,910
Bankers Trust                                                  237,880
Mellon Trust                                                   100,850
RBS Trust Bank                                                 898,910
Morgan Stanley                                                 181,690
State Street Bank & Trust                                      527,533
Bank of New York London                                        214,000
RBS-EDINBURGH                                                  38,490
Northern Trust                                                 746,400
Citibank                                                       57,500
Chase Manhattan Bank London                                    23,056
HSBC Client Holdings Nominee(UK)Limited                        153,563
JP Morgan                                                      257,877
Deutsche Bank                                                  19,000



5) Number of shares/amount of stock acquired

2,506,488

6) Percentage of issued class

1.02%

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

10 July 2002

11) Date company informed

11 July 2002

12) Total holding following this notification

22,520,344

13) Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

9.17%

14) Any additional information

-

15) Name of contact and telephone number for queries

Caroline Farbridge 01274 731111

16) Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for

making this notification

Caroline Farbridge

Assistant Company Secretary

Date of notification: 12 July 2002





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