Holding(s) in Company

Provident Financial PLC 08 August 2006 SCHEDULE 10 NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES 1. Name of company Provident Financial plc 2. Name of shareholder having a major interest Barclays PLC 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 Notification in respect of shareholder named 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 Bank of Ireland a/c 426353 407,407 Bank of New York 17,987 Barclays Capital Nominees Limited 253,000 Barclays Capital Nominees Limited 43,765 Barclays Capital Nominees Limited 381,311 Barclays Global Investors Canada 18,725 Barclays Trust Co & Others 14,043 Barclays Trust Co as Exec /ADM C 000000000000000000 442 Barclays Trust Co DMC69 C 000000000000000000 374 Barclays Trust Co R69 C 000000000000000000 21,480 BOISS Nominees Ltd a/c 4224361 234,999 Chase Nominees Ltd a/c 16376 124,317 Chase Nominees Ltd a/c 28270 87,708 Gerrard Nominees Limited a/c 620404 395 Greig Middleton Nominees Limited (GM1) 72,396 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 2,319 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 251,707 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 14,168 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 44,247 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 78,358 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 72,150 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 3,975 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 7,546 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 7,783 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 1,314,025 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 851,880 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 23,077 Investors Bank and Trust Co. 14,447 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 16331 70,378 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 16338 15,151 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 16341 141,911 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 16342 32,144 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 16400 2,023,196 JP Morgan (BGI Custody) a/c 18409 195,595 J P Morgan Chase Bank 22,119 J P Morgan Chase Bank 4,241 J P Morgan Chase Bank 2,551 J P Morgan Chase Bank 15,052 J P Morgan Chase Bank 11,670 J P Morgan Chase Bank 37,191 J P Morgan Chase Bank 27,242 J P Morgan Chase Bank 6,660 J P Morgan Chase Bank 2,538 J P Morgan Chase Bank 26,866 J P Morgan Chase Bank 140,143 J P Morgan Chase Bank 34,614 J P Morgan Chase Bank 2,068 J P Morgan Chase Bank 8,362 Mellon Trust - US Custodian / 9,723 Mitsui Asset 4,125 R C Greig Nominees Limited 177,297 R C Greig Nominees Limited a/c AK1 130,767 R C Greig Nominees Limited a/c BL1 21,387 R C Greig Nominees Limited a/c CM1 21,977 R C Greig Nominees Limited GP1 22,535 R C Greig Nominees Limited SA1 17,026 State Street Bank and Trust Co 30,600 State Street Boston 130,516 Trust & Custody Services Bank 2,910 5. Number of shares / amount of stock acquired Not disclosed 6. Percentage of issued class (any treasury shares held by company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) Not disclosed 7. Number of shares / amount of stock disposed - 8. Percentage of issued class (any treasury shares held by company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) - 9. Class of security Ordinary shares of 10 4/11p 10. Date of transaction 3 August 2006 11. Date company informed 8 August 2006 12. Total holding following this notification 7,752,586 13. Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification (any treasury shares held by company should not be taken into account when calculating percentage) 3.03% 14. Any additional information - 15. Name of contact and telephone number for queries Emma G Versluys Tel: 01274 731111 ext. 2569 16. Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for making this notification Emma G Versluys Assistant Company Secretary Date of notification 8 August 2006 The FSA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of this document or material and does not accept any liability for error or omission. The FSA is not liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business or loss of profits) arising in contract, tort or otherwise from the use of or inability to use this document, or any material contained in it, or from any action or decision taken as a result of using this document or any such material. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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