Purchase of Own Securities

Provident Financial PLC
21 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 20 September 2001 it purchased
172,000 ordinary shares for cancellation at a price of 613.5p per share
through Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited.  This purchase
represents 0.07% of the Company's issued ordinary share capital and brings the
aggregate number of shares purchased by the Company since 18 September 2001 to
947,000.