EXHIBIT 23.1


               CONSENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


     We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement
on Form S-8 of F.N.B. Corporation for the registration of 1,000,000 shares of
its common stock pertaining to F.N.B. Corporation's 1996 Incentive Plan of our
report dated February 5, 2001, with respect to the consolidated financial
statements of F.N.B. Corporation and Subsidiaries incorporated by reference in
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.



/s/ Ernst & Young LLP


Birmingham, Alabama
February 26, 2002