FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


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


PITTSFIELD,  MA, March 30, 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 ended March 31, 2004 at
approximately 4:15 P.M. eastern time on Wednesday, April 28, 2004.

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

     Dial-in and Access Code:           1-800-500-0177; 458554
     Replay Dial-in and Access Code:    1-888-203-1112; 458554
     Replay Dates:                      April 29, 2004 at 1:00 P.M. (ET) through
                                        May 7, 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
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on April 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.

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MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT:

BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC.
ROSE A. BOROTTO, 413-236-3144
RBOROTTO@BERKSHIREBANK.COM
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