Exhibit 23.1


                         INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


The Board of Directors
The St. Paul Companies, Inc.

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement on Form
S-3 of the St. Paul Capital Trust II and The St. Paul Companies, Inc., of our
reports dated January 23, 2001, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of
The St. Paul Companies, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2000 and 1999,
and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity,
comprehensive income and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2000 and related schedules I through V, which reports
appear or are incorporated by reference in the December 31, 2000 annual report
on Form 10-K of The St. Paul Companies, Inc. and to the reference to our firm
under the heading "Experts" in the prospectus. Our report refers to a change in
the Company's method of accounting for insurance-related assessments.


/s/ KPMG LLP

Minneapolis, Minnesota
November 21, 2001