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                                                                      EXHIBIT 23


                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
CENFED Financial Corporation

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statements (No.
33-43010, No. 33-48077, No. 33-90098 and No. 33-90096) on Form S-8 of CENFED
Financial Corporation of our report dated March 17, 1998, relating to the
consolidated statements of financial condition of CENFED Financial Corporation
and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1997 and 1996, and the related consolidated
statements of operations, changes in stockholders' equity and cash flows for
each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1997, which report
appears in the December 31, 1997 annual report on Form 10-K of CENFED Financial
Corporation.

                                                           KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Los Angeles, California
March 30, 1998