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                                  EXHIBIT 99(i)

                  CERTIFICATION OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER

            PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, R. Ronald Swanner, certify that:

(1)     I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-QSB of South Street
        Financial Corp., a North Carolina bank (the "registrant");

(2)     Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
        statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
        to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
        such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
        covered by this quarterly report;

(3)     Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
        information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
        material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
        cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
        this quarterly report;

(4)     The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
        establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
        defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and
        have:

          (a)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
                material information relating to the registrant, is made known
                to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
                period in which this quarterly report is being prepared;

          (b)   evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
                filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date");
                and

          (c)   presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
                effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on
                our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

(5)     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
        our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
        committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing
        the equivalent functions):

          (a)   all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's
                ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data
                and have identified for the registrant's auditors any material
                weaknesses in internal controls; and

          (b)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
                other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
                internal controls; and

(6)     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have indicated in this
        quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in
        internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect
        internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
        including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies
        and material weaknesses.

Date: May 14, 2003                     By: /s/ R. Ronald Swanner
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           R. Ronald Swanner
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer