Result of Equity Issue

Provident Financial PLC
18 December 2002


For Immediate Release


18 December 2002


  NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,
                           CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN


                            Provident Financial plc

         Results of Placing of new Provident Financial Ordinary Shares


Provident Financial plc ('Provident Financial') announces that it has completed
the placing of new Ordinary Shares (the 'Placing') launched earlier today. A
total of 8,600,000 new Ordinary Shares, representing 3.4 per cent. of the
enlarged issued share capital of Provident Financial, have been placed at a
price of 585 pence per share. The gross proceeds, at the placing price, amount
to £50.3 million.


Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority and to the London Stock
Exchange plc (the 'LSE') for the new Ordinary Shares, which will rank pari passu
with the existing Ordinary Shares of Provident Financial, to be admitted to the
Official List of the UK Listing Authority and for admission to trading on the
LSE on Monday 23rd December 2002.


Enquiries:

Provident Financial

David Stevenson           01274 731 111


Bell Pottinger Financial

Jonathan Brill            020 7861 3232
                                


Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited and Merrill Lynch
International are acting exclusively for Provident Financial and no one else in
connection with the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than
Provident Financial for providing the protections afforded to clients of
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities Limited and Merrill Lynch
International nor for providing any advice in relation to the Placing or any
other matters referred to in this announcement.


This announcement has been issued by Provident Financial and is the sole
responsibility of Provident Financial. This announcement is for information
purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation to acquire or
dispose of any securities or investment advice.  This announcement does not
constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
acquire ordinary shares in the capital of Provident Financial in the United
States, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any jurisdiction in which such an offer
or solicitation is unlawful.  The new ordinary shares referred to in this
announcement have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities
Act of 1933 and, subject to certain exceptions, may not be offered or sold
within the United States.  No public offering of securities will be made in the
United States.


Neither this document nor any copy of it may be taken, transmitted or
distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada,
Australia or Japan.  Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute
a violation of United States, Canadian, Australian or Japanese securities laws.


  NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES,
                           CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN


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