Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: BHLB), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), announced today that the Bank has opened a full-service branch at Shaker Pine Plaza, 151 Vly Road, Colonie, New York. Shaker Pine Plaza is located just north of the intersection of New Karner Road with Watervliet-Shaker Road.
Commenting on the opening of the Colonie branch, Michael P. Daly, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are very pleased to be part of the Colonie community. I want express our appreciation to the management of Shaker Pine Plaza for their efforts in turning a building formerly housing YMCA offices into a state-of-the-art freestanding banking facility. As evidenced by the opening of our Colonie branch, we are continuing to execute on our expansion plan for the Capital Region. This is our third new branch opened this year and we expect to open our Glenville branch next month.”
Sean A. Gray, First Vice President of Retail Banking announced that Christine Perlee, a resident of Niskayuna, is manager of the Colonie branch. Ms. Perlee joined the Bank in 2005 as a business development officer. She previously held a similar position with First New York FCU in Schenectady. Ms. Perlee is a graduate of SUNY Albany, serves on the board of Niskayuna Community Foundation and is a past chairperson of the Murray Foundation Award. She also volunteers for the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Group and the Cinderella Project of the Capital Region and is a member of the Albany-Colonie and the Schenectady County chambers of commerce.
All deposits at Berkshire Bank in excess of the FDIC insurance limit are 100 percent insured, without exception, by the Depositors Insurance Fund. No other bank or credit union in New York offers this protection. The Bank offers a full array of financial products and services at the new Colonie branch, including personal and business checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRAs, residential and commercial mortgages, auto loans, and a wide variety of other types of commercial and consumer loans, home equity loans, retirement products and wealth and investment management, drive-thru banking, and an ATM.
The Bank has a total of 30 branches and 40 ATMs throughout Northeastern New York and Western Massachusetts. Berkshire Bank’s regional headquarters are located at 41 State Street in Downtown Albany, where the Bank also maintains a branch. Other branches in the region are located in Clifton Park, Delmar, East Greenbush, two in Guilderland, Halfmoon, Colonie and Oriskany Falls.
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 the largest banking institution based in Western Massachusetts. The Bank is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts with branches serving communities throughout Western Massachusetts and Northeastern New York. The Bank is transitioning into a regional bank and is positioning itself as the financial institution of choice in its retail and commercial markets, delivering exceptional customer service and a broad array of competitively priced deposit, loan, insurance, wealth management and trust services, and investment products. For more information on Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. or Berkshire Bank, visit www.berkshirebank.com or call 800-773-5601.
