PITTSFIELD, Mass., July 9, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Berkshire Bank has been featured in the July 8, 2008 issue of American Banker, the financial services newspaper exclusively focused on the banking and financial services industry since 1835. The article discusses the Bank's 2007 introduction of its brand identity and position as "America's Most Exciting Bank"(sm).
The article reports on the Bank's success in winning over and engaging new customers and energizing its staff. Sean A. Gray, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking, stated that the theme of excitement "allows us an emotional connection to our customers." He was further quoted, "I really do believe we have the ability to be exciting because of the autonomy we have in the workplace." Michael P. Daly, President and CEO, added, "We always believed that if employees feel good about what they're doing, it will be contagious."
The article reports on the Bank's strong deposit growth and higher earnings in the first quarter of 2008. It also reports on the Bank's largest market share in its traditional Berkshire County market, and on its expansion into contiguous markets in Springfield, Massachusetts; Albany, New York' and Southern Vermont. It also noted the importance of safety and solidness in the bank marketing. Berkshire Bank holds the highest regulatory classification of Well Capitalized, and its nonperforming asset measures are significantly better than the most recent peer FDIC statistics.
Berkshire Bank is the bank subsidiary of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Berkshire Hills has about $2.5 billion in assets and provides business and consumer banking, insurance, and wealth management services through 48 banking and insurance offices in Western Massachusetts, Northeastern New York, and Southern Vermont. For more information, visit www.berkshirebank.com or call 800-773-5601.
The Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5000