Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
4 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 3 October 2001 it purchased
400,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 614.875p per share
through Merrill Lynch. This purchase represents 0.162% of the Company's issued
ordinary share capital and brings the aggregate number of shares purchased by
the Company since 18 September 2001 to 3,372,000.