EXHIBIT 31.1

                                  CERTIFICATION

I, Joseph L. LaMonica, certify that:

1. I have  reviewed  this  annual  report  on  Form  10-K of  PennFed  Financial
Services, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state a material fact  necessary to make the statements
made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based  on my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other  financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the
financial  condition,  results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The  registrant's  other  certifying  officer(s)  and I are  responsible  for
establishing and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

          a) Designed such disclosure  controls and  procedures,  or caused such
          disclosure   controls  and   procedures  to  be  designed   under  our
          supervision,  to ensure  that  material  information  relating  to the
          registrant,  including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
          us by others within those entities,  particularly during the period in
          which this report is being prepared;

          b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
          and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions  about the
          effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
          of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

          c)  Disclosed in this report any change in the  registrant's  internal
          control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
          most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's  fourth fiscal quarter in
          the case of an annual  report)  that has  materially  affected,  or is
          reasonably  likely to materially  affect,  the  registrant's  internal
          control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant's other certifying  officer(s) and I have disclosed,  based on
our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,  to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of directors
(or persons performing the equivalent functions):

          a) all significant  deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
          or operation of internal  control over financial  reporting  which are
          reasonably  likely to  adversely  affect the  registrant's  ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

          b) any fraud,  whether or not material,  that  involves  management or
          other  employees  who  have a  significant  role  in the  registrant's
          internal control over financial reporting.


Date: September 22, 2003

/s/ Joseph L. LaMonica
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Joseph L. LaMonica
President and Chief Executive Officer