EXHIBIT 23.1


                    KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP LETTERHEAD
                    150 JOHN F. KENNEDY PARKWAY
                    SHORT HILLS, NEW JERSEY  07078



                    INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S CONSENT



The Board of Directors
Valley National Bancorp:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration
Statement on Form S-8 of Valley National Bancorp of our report
dated January 20, 1994, relating to the consolidated statements
of financial condition of Valley National Bancorp and
subsidiaries as of December 31, 1993 and 1992 and the related
consolidated statements of income, changes in shareholders'
equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 1993, which report appears in he
December 31, 1993 Annual Report on Form 10-K of Valley National
Bancorp.


                                  /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP



Short Hills, New Jersey
December 16, 1994