Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
24 September 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 21 September 2001 it purchased
890,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 584.72p per share
through Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited.  This purchase
represents 0.357% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital and brings
the aggregate number of shares purchased by the Company since 18 September
2001 to 1,837,000.