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                                                                      EXHIBIT 23


                   CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

The Board of Directors
Banknorth Group, Inc.:

     We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements
(Nos. 33-22205, 33-22206, 33-80310, 333-17467, 333-36834, 333-46367, 333-49999,
333-70095, and 333-72909) on Form S-8 of Banknorth Group, Inc. (the "Company"),
the Registration Statements on Form S-3 (Nos. 333-34931, 333-64845 and
333-67961) of the Company and the Registration Statement on Form S-4 of the
Company (No. 333-61757) of our report, dated August 2, 2000, relating to the
consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 1999 and 1998 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, 1999, which report appears in the Current Report on form 8-K of the Company
dated August 2000.


                                               /s/ KPMG LLP


Boston, Massachusetts
August 18, 2000


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