Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF

THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report of BancTrust Financial Group, Inc. (the "Company") on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2003, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the "10-Q"), I, W. Bibb Lamar, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the Company, hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to my knowledge:

(1) The 10-Q fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) The information contained in the 10-Q fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

	/s/W. Bibb Lamar, Jr.
August 14, 2003	W. Bibb Lamar, Jr.
Date	Chief Executive Officer