Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
27 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 26 September 2001 it purchased
325,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 599.7p per share
through Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited.  This purchase
represents 0.13% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital and brings the
aggregate number of shares purchased by the Company since 18 September 2001 to
2,242,000.