EXHIBIT 23

                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS







                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
Coastal Financial Corporation


We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements on Forms
S-8 the 1990  Stock  Option  and  Incentive  Plan as  amended,  and the  Coastal
Financial   Corporation's   Directors  Performance  Plan  of  Coastal  Financial
Corporation of our report dated October 18, 1996,  relating to the  consolidated
statements  of  financial   condition  of  Coastal  Financial   Corporation  and
subsidiaries  as of September  30, 1996 and 1995,  and the related  consolidated
statements of  operations,  stockholders'  equity and cash flows for each of the
years in the three-year period ended September 30, 1996, which report appears in
the  September  30,  1996,  annual  report  on Form  10-K of  Coastal  Financial
Corporation and  subsidiaries.  Our report dated October 18, 1996, refers to the
fact  that the  Company  adopted  the  provisions  of the  Financial  Accounting
Standards Board's Statement of Financial  Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 115,
"Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities" on October 1,
1994 and the  provisions  of SFAS No.  109,  "Accounting  for  Income  Taxes" on
October 1, 1993.





Greenville, South Carolina
December 27, 1996