EXHIBIT 23.1


                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


The Board of Directors
Webster Financial Corporation (as successor to Eagle Financial Corp.)

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statements
(Nos. 33-13244 and 33-38286) on Forms S-8, and (No. 333-47269) on Form S-3 of
Webster Financial  Corporation of our report dated October 27, 1997, relating to
the consolidated  balance sheets of Eagle Financial Corp. and subsidiaries as of
September 30, 1997 and 1996 and the related  consolidated  statements of income,
shareholders'  equity  and cash  flows for each of the  years in the  three-year
period  ended  September  30, 1997,  which report  appears in the April 15, 1998
current report on Form 8-K of Webster Financial Corporation.

                              /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP


Hartford, Connecticut
April 30, 1998