Woodford holding Provident Financial sees shares fall to lowest level since 1996

Fell 70% last summer

Shares in sub-prime lender Provident Financial, held by Neil Woodford, have fallen by 13% this morning, reaching a 22-year low.

Shares were trading at 566p this morning, down 13.1%, having closed at 656p on Friday.  The fall, which saw the share price plummet to its lowest level since 1996, comes ahead of the firm's annual results tomorrow morning that will give insight into two investigations the firm is facing by the regulator. It is also expected to announce a rights issue that could seek to raise as much as £500m. The financial lending firm, which is a 2% holding in Woodford's Equity Income fund, was ejected from the FTSE 100 last summer after shares fell more than 70%.  This was caused by the firm i...