Holding(s) in Company

Provident Financial PLC
7 May 2002


DEALINGS BY SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS

NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES



1) Name of company

Provident Financial plc

2) Name of shareholder having a major interest

Fidelity International Limited and its direct and indirect subsidiaries

3) Please state whether notification indicates that it is in respect of

holding of the shareholder named in 2 above or in respect of a

non-beneficial interest or in the case of an individual holder if it is

holding of that person's spouse or children under the age of 18

Non-beneficial interest of shareholders referred to in 2 above

4) Name of the registered holder(s) and, if more than one holder, the

number of shares held by each of them
Chase Nominees Ltd                                           4,138,647
Chase Manhattan Bank London                                  479,500
Bankers Trust                                                60,300
Citibank                                                     80,700
BT Globenet Nominees Ltd                                     46,100
MSS Nominees Ltd                                             42,150
Chase Nominees Ltd                                           29,900
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                        72,080
RBS Trust Bank                                               262,050
Bank of New York London                                      254,295
HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Ltd                        7,700
MSS Nominees Ltd                                             6,015,067
Chase Nominees Ltd                                           490,630
Nortrust Nominees Ltd                                        238,890
Bankers Trust                                                247,299
Mellon Trust                                                 78,450
RBS Trust Bank                                               770,310
Morgan Stanley                                               156,790
State Street Bank & Trust                                    350,043
KAS Associatie                                               24,040
Bank of New York London                                      82,600
RBS-EDINBURG                                                 29,890
Northern Trust                                               477,870
Citibank                                                     51,500
Chase Manhattan Bank London                                  8,889
HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Ltd                        93,963
JP Morgan                                                    222,677
Deutsche Bank                                                1,100

5) Number of shares/amount of stock acquired

2,348,977

6) Percentage of issued class

0.957%

7) Number of shares/amount of stock disposed

-

8) Percentage of issued class

-

9) Class of security

10 4/11p ordinary

10) Date of transaction

2 May 2002

11) Date company informed

3 May 2002

12) Total holding following this notification

14,813,430

13) Total percentage holding of issued class following this notification

6.035%

14) Any additional information

-

15) Name of contact and telephone number for queries

Caroline Farbridge

[phone], ext. 2195

16) Name and signature of authorised company official responsible for

making this notification

Caroline Farbridge

Assistant Company Secretary

Date of notification: 7 May 2002




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