EXHIBIT 23.1



                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS



The Board of Directors
FirstCity Financial Corporation:


We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements (Numbers
333-10345, 333-48671, 333-59333, 333-00623 and 33-09485) on Forms S-3 and S-8 of
FirstCity Financial Corporation, of our report dated February 13, 2002, with
respect to the consolidated balance sheets of FirstCity Financial Corporation
and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the related consolidated
statements of operations, stockholders' equity and comprehensive loss, 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-K of
FirstCity Financial Corporation. Our report refers to a change in the method of
accounting for residual interests in securitized financial assets in 2001 and a
change in the method of accounting for organizational costs in 1999.



                                    KPMG LLP

Dallas, Texas
March 29, 2002