EXHIBIT 23(A)

                   INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
1st Bergen Bancorp and Subsidiaries:

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of 1st Bergen Bancorp and Subsidiaries of our report dated October 28,
1996 with respect to the consolidated statements of financial condition of 1st
Bergen Bancorp and Subsidiaries as of September 30, 1996 and 1995, and the
related consolidated statements of income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows
for each of the years in the three-year period ended September 30, 1996, which
report appears in the September 30, 1996 Annual Report on Form 10-K of 1st
Bergen Bancorp and Subsidiaries. Our report refers to the adoption of Statement
of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115, "Accounting for Certain Investments
in Debt and Equity Securities," in fiscal 1995.


KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
Short Hills, New Jersey
June 6, 1997