On 11th September 2014, the results of the annual review of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices were published. The annual review is carried out by the sustainability investment specialist RobecoSAM Indices on the 2,500 largest companies within the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI) and includes an in-depth analysis featuring approximately 100 questions on financially relevant economic, environmental and social factors.

Following the review, and for the ninth successive year, Provident Financial has maintained its inclusion in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), which represents the top 10% of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global BMI based on long-term economic, environmental and social criteria, and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI Europe), which selects the leading companies in sustainability among the 600 companies that make up the Dow Jones STOXX 600 European index.

Provident Financial’s overall score in the 2014 Indices was 60% – 15% points higher than the average overall score of the other companies in the financial services sector.

Rob Lawson, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Provident Financial, commented:

“We are delighted to continue to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and remain committed to sharing information on our corporate responsibility (CR) performance with the investment community and other stakeholders. Our continued inclusion in the Indices shows how successful our CR programme has been over the last decade and provides demonstrable evidence to our stakeholders of how fundamental CR is to Provident Financial’s overall business strategy.”

Notes:

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices were launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks. The Indices are based on an internationally recognised leading Corporate Sustainability Assessment methodology which means that they include only companies that fulfil certain sustainability criteria who are better than the majority of their peers. They are currently managed by the world's largest resource for index-based data and research, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, in partnership with the sustainability investment specialist RobecoSAM Indices.

For more information on the DJSI please visit: www.sustainability-indices.com