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              CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS


The Board of Directors
First Charter Corporation:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements of First
Charter Corporation (the Corporation) on Forms S-3 (Nos. 333-60641 and
333-71495) and the registration statements on Forms S-8 (Nos. 333-71497,
333-54019, 333-54021, 333-54023, 333-60949, and 333-43617), of our report dated
January 13, 1999, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of First Charter
Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1998 and 1997, and the related
consolidated statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each
of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1998, which report
appears in the 1998 Annual Report to Shareholders and is incorporated by
reference in the 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K of First Charter Corporation.


KPMG LLP

Charlotte, North Carolina
March 19, 1999