EXHIBIT 23(b)


                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


The Board of Directors
Banknorth Group, Inc.:


     We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement
on Form S-4 of Banknorth Group, Inc. of our report dated January 11, 2002, with
respect to the consolidated balance sheets of Banknorth Group, Inc. as of
December 31, 2001 and 2000 and the related consolidated statements of income,
changes in 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-K of Banknorth Group, Inc., and to the
reference to our firm under the heading "Experts" in the Prospectus/Proxy
Statement.


                                                                    /s/ KPMG LLP

Boston, Massachusetts
May 3, 2002