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                                                                    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.
33-82668, 33-82670, 33-80822, 33-25424, 33-79668, 333-96141, 333-67745 and
333-31948) on Form S-8 and registration statement (No. 333-06975) 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.






Greenville, South Carolina                                     KPMG LLP
March  15, 2001