EXHIBIT 23


                    CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS


The Board of Directors
Catskill Financial Corporation

We consent to incorporation by reference in Registration Statement No. 333-41987
on Form S-8, of our report dated October 21, 1998,  relating to the consolidated
statements  of  financial  condition  of  Catskill  Financial   Corporation  and
subsidiary  as  of  September  30,  1998  and  1997,  and  related  consolidated
statements of income, changes in shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of
the years in the  three-year  period  ended  September  30,  1998,  which report
appears in the annual report on Form 10-K of Catskill Financial  Corporation for
the fiscal year ended September 30, 1998.



                                                   /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
                                                   -----------------------------
                                                       KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Albany, New York
December 22, 1998