EXHIBIT 23.3

                  Independent Auditors' Consent

The Board of Directors
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc;
(Successors of First State Financial Services, Inc.)

     We consent to the incorporation by reference in the
Registration Statement on Form S-3 of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and
in the related prospectus of our report dated November 26, 1996
relating to the consolidated statements of operations,
stockholders' equity and cash flows of First State Financial
Services, Inc. for the year ended September 30, 1996, which
report appears in the 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. and the reference to our Firm under the
heading "Experts" in the registration statement on Form S-3 and
the related prospectus.

                              /s/ KPMG LLP

                              KPMG LLP

Short Hills, New Jersey
September 8, 1999