1 EXHIBIT 23.1 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS Capitol Bancorp Ltd. Lansing, Michigan We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Prospectus constituting a part of this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of our report dated January 31, 1997, relating to the consolidated financial statements of Capitol Bancorp Ltd. appearing in the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1996. We also consent to the reference to us under the caption "Experts" in the Prospectus. /s/ BDO Seidman, LLP Grand Rapids, Michigan November 26, 1997