<ARTICLE>                                            9
<CIK>                                          0000846465
<NAME>                        CAROLINA FIRST BANCSHARES, INC.
<MULTIPLIER>                                   1
<CURRENCY>                                     US DOLLARS
       
                             
<PERIOD-TYPE>                   3-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END>                              DEC-31-1997
<PERIOD-START>                                 JAN-01-1997
<PERIOD-END>                                   MAR-31-1997
<EXCHANGE-RATE>                                1
<CASH>                                         16,663,670
<INT-BEARING-DEPOSITS>                         614,764
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<TRADING-ASSETS>                               0
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<DEPOSITS>                                     398,886,154
<SHORT-TERM>                                   0
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<LONG-TERM>                                    0
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