Response to OFT Statement

Provident Financial PLC
20 December 2004


               Response to 20 December 2004 home credit sector
                     Competition Commission referral


Provident Financial notes the announcement of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
today relating to the UK home credit sector.  This is formal confirmation of the
OFT's announcement on 10 September 2004 that it was minded to refer the home
credit sector for a market investigation by the Competition Commission on the
grounds that competition among home credit providers may be restricted.

Provident Financial has co-operated fully with the OFT analysis and will now
offer its full support to the Competition Commission.

We do not accept the OFT's view of the UK home credit sector.  We believe that
we can demonstrate to the Competition Commission the increasingly competitive
nature of the market for the supply of small sum credit in which we operate,
including a high degree of customer switching between products, low barriers to
entry, increasing price competition and a high level of customer satisfaction.

Robin Ashton, Chief Executive, said,

'The home credit sector is open, fair, fully regulated and increasingly
competitive with highly transparent products and high customer satisfaction.
Provident Financial will be putting this case vigorously to the Competition
Commission.  We believe this process will increase everyone's understanding of
the increasingly competitive market in which we operate.'


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange