The Board of Directors
The South Financial Group, Inc.:

We have audited, in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, the consolidated balance sheets of The South Financial Group, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and 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, 2002 (not presented herein); and in our report dated January 21, 2003, we expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements. Our report refers to the fact that on January 1, 2002 The South Financial Group, Inc. adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.”

In our opinion, the information set forth in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets and statements of income is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the consolidated financial statements from which it has been derived.

KPMG LLP
Greenville, South Carolina
January 21, 2003