Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
8 October 2001


Provident Financial plc ('the Company')

Share repurchase

Provident Financial plc announces that, pursuant to the authority conferred at
the Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2001, on 5 October 2001 it purchased
150,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 615p per share through
Merrill Lynch. This purchase represents 0.061% of the Company's issued
ordinary share capital and brings the aggregate number of shares purchased by
the Company since 18 September 2001 to 3,522,000.