1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1

                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
The South Financial Group, Inc.

We consent to incorporation by reference into the registration statements (Nos.
33-25424, 33-79668, 33-80822, 33-82668, 33-82670, 333-31948, 333-53170,
333-53172, 333-67745, 333-83519 and 333-96141) on Form S-8 and registration
statements (Nos. 333-06975 and 333-49078) on Form S-3 of The South Financial
Group, Inc. of our report dated January 23, 2001, relating to the consolidated
balance sheets of The South Financial Group and subsidiaries as of December 31,
2000 and 1999 and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in
shareholders' equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the
years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2000, which report appears in
the December 31, 2000 annual report on Form 10-K of The South Financial Group,
Inc.




                                                          /s/ KPMG LLP

Greenville, South Carolina                                    KPMG LLP
March  16, 2001