Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
1 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 28 September 2001 it purchased
30,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 613p per share through
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited.  This purchase represents
0.01% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital and brings the aggregate
number of shares purchased by the Company since 18 September 2001 to
2,322,000.