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      EXHIBIT 23.1     CONSENT OF ELLIOTT, DAVIS & COMPANY, LLP






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               CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS


      As independent public accountants, we hereby consent to the incorporation
by reference in this Form S-8 Registration Statement of our report dated
November 17, 2000, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of SOUTHBANC
SHARES, INC. and subsidiaries as of September 30, 2000, and 1999, and the
related consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows
for each of the years in the three year period ended September 30, 2000, which
report appears in the September 30, 2000 annual report on Form 10-K of SOUTHBANC
SHARES, INC., and to all references to our firm included in or made a part of
this Registration Statement.


/s/ Elliott, Davis & Company LLP

Elliott, Davis & Company LLP
Greenville, South Carolina
April 26, 2001