FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


              BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC. TO ISSUE SECOND QUARTER
                       EARNINGS RELEASE ON JULY 28, 2005;
            CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR JULY 29, 2005 AT 10:00 A.M. (ET)


PITTSFIELD,  MA, June 15, 2005 - 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 ending June 30, 2005, at
approximately 4:15 P.M. eastern time on Thursday, July 28, 2005.

The Company will conduct a post-earnings  conference call at 10:00 A.M.  eastern
time on Friday, July 29, 2005. President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael P.
Daly and Chief Financial Officer,  Wayne F. Patenaude will discuss highlights of
the Company's second quarter financial results. Information about the conference
call follows:

         Dial-in:                   1-877-407-8035
         Replay Dial-in:            1-877-660-6853
         Replay Access Codes:       Account #286; Conference ID #157899
                                    (Both are needed to access the Replay)
         Replay Dates:              July 29, 2005 at 1:00 P.M. (ET) through
                                    August 5, 2005 at 4:00 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 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
branch  offices  serving  communities   throughout  Western   Massachusetts  and
Northeastern  New York and a  representative  office  in New  York.  The Bank is
committed to  continuing  to operate as an  independent  super  community  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