THE SOUTH FINANCIAL GROUP                                102 South Main Street
                                                         Greenville, SC 29601
                                                         864.255.4919
NEWS RELEASE


DATE:             April 19, 2000

RELEASE TIME:     Immediate


                 SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE CAROLINA FIRST CORPORATION
               CORPORATE NAME CHANGE TO THE SOUTH FINANCIAL GROUP


GREENVILLE,  SC - Carolina First  Corporation  (Nasdaq/NM:CAFC)  today announced
that the Company's  shareholders approved the corporate name change to The South
Financial  Group,  Inc. at the annual meeting of  shareholders.  The name change
will be effective as of April 24, 2000, at which time the Company's common stock
will begin trading under the new corporate trading symbol, "TSFG."

Mack I. Whittle,  Jr.,  President and Chief Executive Officer,  commented,  "The
South  Financial  Group more  clearly  reflects the  strategic  direction of our
Company.  Our new name captures our regional focus on fast-growing  Southeastern
markets.  It also emphasizes our broad and evolving array of financial services.
While we are changing our corporate name, our subsidiary bank names -- which are
readily  recognized and have  significant  franchise  value -- will remain.  The
South Financial Group will operate Carolina First Bank in South Carolina, Citrus
Bank in Florida, and Bank CaroLine on the Internet. Our shareholders, employees,
and customers  have  expressed  enthusiastic  support for new corporate name and
strategic focus."

In other formal  business  conducted at the meeting,  shareholders  elected four
directors to new three-year terms expiring in 2003.  Elected to three-year terms
were M. Dexter Hagy; H. Earle Russell,  Jr.; William R. Timmons, Jr.; and Samuel
H.  Vickers.  In  addition,  shareholders  approved  the  Company's  Amended and
Restated  Fortune 50 Plan and increased the shares  available for issuance under
the Company's  Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan and the Company's  Amended
Common Stock Dividend Reinvestment Plan.

The South Financial  Group,  headquartered in Greenville,  South Carolina,  is a
financial  services company with $3.6 billion in total assets, 62 branch offices
in South  Carolina and 13 banking  offices in northern and central  Florida.  It
operates Carolina First Bank, the largest South Carolina-based  commercial bank;
Citrus Bank, a Florida banking subsidiary;  Carolina First Mortgage Company, the
second  largest  mortgage loan servicer in South  Carolina;  and Carolina  First
Bank,  F.S.B.,  a savings  bank which offers Bank  CaroLine (an Internet  bank).
Other  subsidiaries  include a full service  brokerage  company,  an  automobile
finance company and a small business investment company that invests principally
in bank technology companies.  Effective April 24th, The South Financial Group's
common  stock will trade on the Nasdaq  National  Market  under the symbol TSFG.
Carolina First's press releases are available by telefax at no charge by calling
PR Newswire's  Company News On-Call at  800-758-5804,  extension  144553.  Press
releases  along  with  additional  information  may also be  found at The  South
Financial Group's web site: http://www.thesouthgroup.com.

Certain  matters  set forth in this news  release  may  contain  forward-looking
statements  that are  provided  to assist in the  understanding  of  anticipated
future  financial  performance.  However,  such  performance  involves risks and
uncertainties  that may cause actual results to differ  materially from those in
such  statements.  For a  discussion  of  certain  factors  that may cause  such
forward-looking  statements  to  differ  materially  from the  Company's  actual
results,  see the  Company's  Annual  Report  on Form  10-K for the  year  ended
December 31, 1999.

CONTACTS:
         William S. Hummers III, Executive Vice President, (864) 255-7913
         Mary M. Gentry, Treasurer, (864) 255-4919



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