The South Financial Group Recognized for Excellence in Small Business Banking

The South Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSFG) was recently recognized as a national and regional winner of 2009 Excellence in Small Business Banking awards from Greenwich Associates. The South Financial Group is one of nineteen banks to be recognized in the "Overall Satisfaction” category on a national level. Carolina First Bank, The South Financial Group’s banking subsidiary, operates as Carolina First in the Carolinas and Mercantile Bank in Florida.

"These awards illustrate our commitment to understanding the needs of business owners and working together to meet their specific needs,” said Ernie Diaz, President of Mercantile Bank.

David Lominack, Market President for Carolina First Bank, continued, "Delivering on our relationship banking model continues to be our goal, and these awards reflect the value our bankers place on exceeding customer expectations.”

The South Financial Group was recognized in the following categories for Small Business Banking:

• Overall Satisfaction, National Winner
• Relationship Management Performance, National Winner
• Overall Satisfaction, South Regional Winner

Greenwich Associates evaluated more than 750 banks across the country to determine the 2009 award winners. This evaluation was based on over 17,000 interviews with leaders at businesses with annual sales of $1 million to $10 million.

General Information

The South Financial Group is a bank holding company focused on serving small businesses, middle market companies, and retail customers in the Carolinas and Florida. At December 31, 2009, it had approximately $11.9 billion in total assets and 177 branch offices. TSFG operates Carolina First Bank, which conducts banking operations in North Carolina and South Carolina (as Carolina First Bank) and in Florida (as Mercantile Bank). At December 31, 2009, approximately 45% of TSFG’s total customer deposits were in South Carolina, 43% were in Florida, and 12% were in North Carolina. Investor information is available at www.thesouthgroup.com.