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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BERKSHIRE BANK TO OPEN ALBANY, NEW YORK
REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE
BRUCE C. PECK TO HEAD NEW CAPITAL DISTRICT OFFICE
PITTSFIELD, MA, July 8, 2004 - Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company"),
(AMEX:BHL), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank") announced that
the Bank has received approval from the State of New York Banking Department, to
open a representative office at 54 State Street in Albany. This will be the
Bank's first facility in the State of New York and it will initially offer
commercial loans and related services from this new office commencing on July
12, 2004.
Commenting on the Bank's expansion into New York, Michael P. Daly, president and
CEO of the Company and the Bank said, "Over the last several years, Berkshire
Bank has developed relationships with many commercial loan customers in Albany
and surrounding areas. We plan to build on those relationships as well as
establish new ones. We are recognized as a leader in community banking and
believe that our style of banking will be warmly received in the Capital
District. Albany and the Greater Capital District are very exciting places in
the early stages of growth and prosperity, and we want to be a significant part
of that."
Heading up this new office is Bruce C. Peck, vice president-commercial banking,
who has over thirty years of banking experience and extensive knowledge of the
Capital District. He earned both his B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. in finance
from Columbia University. Peck joined the Bank's commercial lending division in
1998. Prior to that, during his banking career in the Capital District, he was
the senior loan officer at the former Union National Bank and a senior
commercial loan officer at the former Home & City Savings Bank. Peck has served
in various capacities on the board of the Parson Child & Family Center in Albany
since 1978 and is a former board member of the Geneva, New York Chamber of
Commerce and the Ontario County, New York United Way. He and his wife Barbara
reside in East Greenbush.
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 and a
representative office in Albany, New York. 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. For more information, call 1-800-773-5601 or visit
www.berkshirebank.com.
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Statements contained in this news release contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management, as
well as the assumptions made using information currently available to
management. Since these statements reflect the views of management concerning
future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
These risks and uncertainties include among others: changes in market interest
rates and general and regional economic conditions; changes in government
regulations; changes in accounting principles; and the quality or composition of
the loan and investment portfolios and other factors that may be described in
the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31,
June 30 and September 30 and in its annual report on Form 10-K, each filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the Securities
and Exchange Commission's internet web site (www.sec.gov) and to which reference
is hereby made. Therefore, actual future results may differ significantly from
results discussed in these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
Elizabeth A. Mach, 413-445-8390
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