EXHIBIT 23




                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT





The Board of Directors
Lakeview Financial Corp.:

We consent to incorporation  by reference in the Registration  Statement on Form
S-8 of Lakeview Financial Corp.  relating to the 1993 Stock Option Plan (Plan A,
Plan B and Plan C) of our report dated September 2, 1998,  except as to Note 22,
which is as of October 16, 1998, relating to the consolidated  balance sheets of
Lakeview  Financial Corp. and  subsidiaries as of July 31, 1998 and 1997 and the
related consolidated statements of income,  stockholders' equity, and cash flows
for each of the years in the three-year period ended July 31, 1998, which report
is  included  in the  July 31,  1998  Annual  Report  on Form  10-K of  Lakeview
Financial Corp.


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



Short Hills, New Jersey
October 20, 1998