BOSTON, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) rang the bell to open trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday morning, November 9. Berkshire is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its listing on the NYSE and more than 175 years of service that its subsidiary, Berkshire Bank, has provided to its markets, along with its accelerating momentum toward becoming a high-performing, leading socially responsible community bank in New England, Upstate New York, and beyond.

CEO Nitin Mhatre stated, "We're proud to celebrate the anniversary of our NYSE listing and our long history of purpose-driven, values guided community banking. We believe that where you bank matters, and we're building a better approach to banking while delivering steadily improving results to our communities and our shareholders. In 2022, our team has delivered strong improvement in our financial results, along with a 50% dividend increase, and our stock has outperformed the NYSE Composite index and the KBW Regional Banking index."

"We're making steady progress in our Berkshire's Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST) program and we're in the top quartile of banks in our index of ESG performance. Additionally, we issued the first Community Bank Sustainability Bond in the U.S. in June and were named by Newsweek as one of America's Most Trustworthy Companies. These milestones are only possible because of the collective work of more than 1,300 Berkshire bankers who are delivering an exceptional customer experience and positive impact in our local communities," added Mhatre.

Company executives joined CEO Mhatre at the podium in the traditional bell ringing ceremony that opens the stock market at 9:30 am. Other Berkshire team members joined the stock traders on the exchange floor to celebrate the start of the trading day. Berkshire Hills has approximately 45 million outstanding shares and a market capitalization of approximately $1.3 billion based on the $28.95 closing price of the Company's stock on November 8, 2022.

A video of the bell ringing can be found at https://youtu.be/_ww1_TB-Lbs. Photos and video of the NYSE Bell Ringing Ceremony are also available courtesy of the NYSE at https://www.nyse.com/bell, on Facebook (NYSE), on Twitter (@NYSE), on YouTube (nysetv1), and from media@theice.com.

ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP

Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank. The Bank's goal is to be a high-performing, leading socially responsible community bank in New England, Upstate New York, and beyond. Berkshire Bank provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management, and investment services. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire has approximately $11.3 billion in assets and operates 100 financial centers in New England and New York, and is a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. To learn more, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Investor Relations Contacts

Kevin Conn, SVP, Investor Relations & Corporate Development

Email: KAConn@berkshirebank.com

Tel: (617) 641-9206

David Gonci, Capital Markets Director

Email: dgonci@berkshirebank.com

Tel: (413) 281-1973

Media Contact:

Gary Levante, SVP, Corporate Responsibility & Communications

Email: glevante@berkshirebank.com

Tel: (413) 447-1737

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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.

Berkshire Bank Team Rings NYSE Opening Bell