EXHIBIT 23

                               CONSENT OF KPMG LLP




                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
Provident Financial Services, Inc.:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in Registration Statement No.
333-103041 on Form S-8 of Provident Financial Services, Inc. of our report dated
January 22, 2003, relating to the consolidated statements of condition of The
Provident Bank and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the
related consolidated statements of income, changes in equity, and cash flows for
each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2002, which report
appears in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Provident Financial Services, Inc.
for the year ended December 31, 2002.

Our report refers to The Provident Bank's adoption of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" on January
1, 2002.

                                    /s/ KPMG LLP

Short Hills, New Jersey
March 26, 2003