Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. Named as One of the Top Performing Companies in Massachusetts.

Business Editors

PITTSFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2004

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company"), (AMEX: "BHL"), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), was ranked by the Boston Globe on May 18, 2004 as one of the 100 top performing Massachusetts-based public companies for the third year in a row. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. was one of five companies selected from western Massachusetts, and the only Berkshire County company appearing in the Boston Globe's 100 ranking. In addition, Berkshire Hills Bancorp was ranked 5th in the state by absolute increase in profits as a percent of revenue.

"We are pleased to be named once again as one of Massachusetts' top performing companies," said Berkshire Bank President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael P. Daly. "The ranking of 5th for profits as a percent of revenue reflects well on the efforts of all of our employees who have executed the aggressive agenda outlined in 2003," he added.

The Company was ranked 69th out of 256 Massachusetts-based companies whose stock is publicly traded on a composite score ranking of annual growth, annual profit-margin growth, and return on equity during the calendar year 2003. In addition to the following criteria: a company must have been public for all of 2003, report positive net income in both 2002 and 2003, and the average of the current and year-ago equity must have been positive. The information for The Globe 100 was collected and analyzed by Standard & Poor's, a division of the McGraw-Hill. Criteria for the rankings were developed by the Boston Globe.

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. 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.

                        Berkshire Hills Bancorp

                    Ranked by Composite Performance

                                                        Composite
   2004         2003      Headquarters     Industry       Score
   --------------------------------------------------------------
    69           91       Pittsfield       Banking         60.3
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                                     1-year
           Return       1-year       change
           on           change       in            2003
           average      in           profit       revenue
           equity       revenue      margin      (millions)
           ------------------------------------------------
            7.4%         3.9%        311.4%        $49.8
           ------------------------------------------------



         Profit Growth Ranked by Absolute Increase in Revenue:

                                     1-year change
                 Rank                in profit margin
                 -------------------------------------
                  5                       311.4%
                 -------------------------------------