**Exhibit  31.1**

 

**SECTION 302CERTIFICATION**

 

I, Joseph W.Saunders, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Providian FinancialCorporation (the “Registrant”), certify that:

 

1. I havereviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of the Registrant;

 

2. Based on myknowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material factor omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3. Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the Registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this report;

 

4. TheRegistrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishingand maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange ActRules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the Registrant and we have:

 

(a) designedsuch disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the Registrant, including its consolidatedsubsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularlyduring the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

(b) evaluatedthe effectiveness of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures andpresented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of thedisclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by thisreport based on such evaluation; and

 

(c) disclosedin this report any change in the Registrant’s internal control over financialreporting that occurred during the Registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (theRegistrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that hasmaterially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’sinternal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. TheRegistrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on ourmost recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theRegistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of Registrant’s Board ofDirectors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

(a) allsignificant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation ofinternal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely toadversely affect the Registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize andreport financial information; and

 

(b) any fraud,whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have asignificant role in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

 
| Date: August  9, 2004 |   |   |   |   |                                                       |
|-----------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|------------------------------------------------------------|
|                  |   |   |   |   | /s/ Joseph  W. Saunders                                    |   |
|                  |   |   |   |   | Joseph W.  Saunders  President and Chief Executive Officer |

 

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