EXHIBIT 23


                         Independent Auditors' Consent


Board of Trustees
The Money Store Inc.:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (No.
333-53549) on Form S-4 by First Union regarding The Money Store Profit-Sharing
plan (the Plan) of our report dated June 4, 1999, relating to the statements of
net assets available for plan benefits as of December 31, 1998 and 1997 and the
statement of changes in net assets available for Plan benefits for the year
ended December 31, 1998, which report appears in the December 31, 1998 annual
report on Form 11-K of the Plan.


Sacramento, California
June 29, 1999