EXHIBIT 23.1

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

The Board of Directors

Palmetto Bancshares, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Palmetto Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the 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, 2003. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Palmetto Bancshares, Inc. as of December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three year period ended December 31, 2003 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

/s/    ELLIOTT DAVIS, LLC

Elliott Davis, LLC

Greenville, South Carolina

February 6, 2004