FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



              BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC. TO ISSUE FOURTH QUARTER
                      EARNINGS RELEASE ON JANUARY 28, 2004;
           CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR JANUARY 29, 2004 AT 10:00 A.M. (ET)


PITTSFIELD,  MA, January 5, 2004 - Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company")
(AMEX:BHL), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), today announced
that it will issue its  earnings  release  for the  quarter  and full year ended
December 31, 2003 at approximately 4:15 P.M. on Wednesday, January 28, 2004.

The Company will conduct a post-earnings  conference call at 10:00 A.M.  eastern
time on  Thursday,  January 29, 2004.  President  and Chief  Executive  Officer,
Michael P. Daly and Chief  Financial  Officer,  Wayne F.  Patenaude will discuss
highlights of the Company's fourth quarter and full year 2003 financial results.
Information about the conference call follows:


  Dial-in and Access Code:            1-800-500-0177;685172
  Replay Dial-in and Access Code:     1-888-203-1112; 685172
  Replay Dates:                       January 29, 2004 at 5:00 P.M. (ET) through
                                      February 6, 2004 at 11:00 P.M. (ET)

All  interested  parties  are  welcome  to access  the  conference  call and are
requested to call in a few minutes  prior to 10:00 A.M. (ET) to register for the
event. The Company has prepared an investor  presentation to accompany the audio
call.  The  investor  presentation  will be  available  on the  Bank's Web site,
http://www.berkshirebank.com  beginning at approximately  8:30 A.M. eastern time
on January 29, 2004.  To access this  information,  which will be in PDF format,
click on the "Conference  Call" icon located to the right of the Company's stock
quote on the Bank's home page.

The  presentation  by Messrs.  Daly and  Patenaude  will last  approximately  15
minutes, followed by another 15 minutes scheduled for questions and answers.

Berkshire  Hills  Bancorp,  Inc. is the  holding  company  for  Berkshire  Bank.
Established in 1846, Berkshire Bank is one of Massachusetts'  oldest and largest
independent  banks,  and is the  largest  banking  institution  based in western
Massachusetts. The Bank is headquartered in Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  with 11
branch offices serving  communities  throughout  Berkshire  County.  The Bank is
committed  to  continuing  to  operate  as  an  independent   bank,   delivering
exceptional  customer service and a broad array of  competitively  priced retail
and commercial products to its customers.

                                       ###

MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT:

ROSE A. BOROTTO
413-236-3144
RBOROTTO@BERKSHIREBANK.COM