EXHIBIT 23

                         Independent Auditors' Consent

The Board of Directors
ECB Bancorp, Inc.

   We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement of
ECB Bancorp, Inc. on Form S-8 relating to the ECB Bancorp, Inc. Omnibus Stock
Ownership and Long-Term Incentive Plan, of our report dated February 1, 2002,
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of ECB Bancorp, Inc. and subsidiary
as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the related consolidated statements of
income, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the years in the
three-year period ended December 31, 2001, which report appears in the December
31, 2001 Annual Report on Form 10-KSB of ECB Bancorp, Inc.

/s/ KPMG LLP

Raleigh, North Carolina
March 18, 2002