Exhibit 99.1

Berkshire Hills Reports Fourth Quarter 2023 Results

Announces $40 Million Share Repurchase Authorization

BOSTON, January 25, 2024 - Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) today reported results for the fourth quarter of 2023. These results along with comparison periods are summarized below:

1. See non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliation to GAAP measures beginning on page 12.

Berkshire CEO Nitin Mhatre stated, “Through the final quarter of the year, we continued to strengthen our balance sheet while maintaining strong credit performance, cost discipline and capital. Despite industry turbulence earlier in the year, full year operating EPS was relatively unchanged from 2022. Our year-end securities sale reduced wholesale borrowings, improving our funding profile as we move into 2024. We continue to benefit from disruption in the competitive landscape and have recruited experienced bankers to further support deposit gathering activities. Our Board has authorized additional share repurchases in 2024 to balance return of capital while supporting franchise growth. I’m confident that Berkshire is well positioned to deliver the benefits of our strategic initiatives to our shareholders and communities.”

CFO David Rosato added, “Fourth quarter operating earnings were $20.2 million, decreasing $1.3 million linked quarter. Net interest margin of 3.11 percent decreased 7 basis points as funding cost increases outpaced loan yield expansion. However, our full year margin was steady at 3.27%. Operating non-interest income decreased by 5 percent linked quarter and increased 8 percent year-over-year. Non-interest expense increased 3 percent linked quarter on a GAAP basis and 2 percent on an operating basis. We continue to improve oversight of our operating costs and are pursuing further efficiency improvements in 2024 while reinvesting in front-line revenue generating teams. Non-operating expenses of $3.7 million were primarily severance charges related to a workforce reduction. We sold lower-yielding securities with a market value of $267 million near period-end and proceeds were used to reduce borrowings by a similar amount. The securities sale resulted in a $25.1 million ($19.0 million after-tax) non-operating loss. Total shareholders’ equity was not impacted by the securities sale and our common equity Tier 1 ratio remained a healthy 12.0% percent at year-end.”

The Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of $40 million of common stock through December 31, 2024. This would result in the repurchase of approximately 4% of outstanding shares based on the current share price.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent company of Berkshire Bank, a relationship-driven, community-focused bank with $12.4 billion in assets and 96 financial centers in New England and New York. Berkshire is headquartered in Boston and offers commercial, retail, wealth, and private banking solutions.

4Q 2023 Financial Highlights

Income Statement

Loans

Deposits

4Q 2023 Corporate Responsibility Highlights

Conference Call and Investor Presentation. Berkshire will conduct a conference call/webcast at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on Thursday, January 25, 2024 to discuss results for the quarter and provide guidance about expected future results. Instructions for listening to the call may be found at the Company’s website at ir.berkshirebank.com. Additional materials relating to the call may also be accessed at this website. The call will be archived at the website and will be available for an extended period of time.

Forward Looking Statements: This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these statements from the use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “potential,” “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “remain,” “target” and similar expressions. There are many factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations described in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such factors, please see Berkshire’s most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our expectations only as of the date of this document. Berkshire does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

INVESTOR CONTACT 

Kevin Conn 

Investor Relations 

617.641.9206

kaconn@berkshirebank.com

MEDIA CONTACT 

Gary Levante 

Corporate Communications 

413.447.1737 

glevante@berkshirebank.com

SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (1)

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (5 Quarter Trend)

AVERAGE BALANCES AND AVERAGE YIELDS AND COSTS

(1)  Interest income and expense presented on a fully taxable equivalent basis.

(2) Average balances for securities available-for-sale are based on amortized cost.

(3) Average balances for borrowings includes the financing lease obligation which is presented under other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.

(4) Unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, are included in average equity. Prior period balances and financial metrics have been updated to reflect the current presentation.    

ASSET QUALITY ANALYSIS

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This document contains certain non-GAAP financial measures in addition to results presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP measures are intended to provide the reader with additional supplemental perspectives on operating results, performance trends, and financial condition. Non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for GAAP measures; they should be read and used in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financial information. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures is provided below. In all cases, it should be understood that non-GAAP measures do not depict amounts that accrue directly to the benefit of shareholders. An item which management excludes when computing non-GAAP operating earnings can be of substantial importance to the Company’s results for any particular quarter or year. The Company’s non-GAAP operating earnings information set forth is not necessarily comparable to non- GAAP information which may be presented by other companies. Each non-GAAP measure used by the Company in this report as supplemental financial data should be considered in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financial information.

The Company utilizes the non-GAAP measure of operating earnings in evaluating operating trends, including components for operating revenue and expense. These measures exclude amounts which the Company views as unrelated to its normalized operations. These items primarily include restructuring costs. Restructuring costs generally consist of costs and losses associated with the disposition of assets and liabilities and lease terminations, including costs related to branch consolidations.

The Company also calculates operating earnings per share based on its measure of operating earnings and diluted common shares. The Company views these amounts as important to understanding its operating trends, particularly due to the impact of accounting standards related to merger and acquisition activity. Analysts also rely on these measures in estimating and evaluating the Company’s performance. Adjustments in 2023 were primarily related to branch consolidations, severance charges related to a workforce reduction, and loss on sale of AFS securities. Expense adjustments in 2022 were primarily related to branch consolidations. For 2022, fair value adjustments on securities were primarily due to unrealized equity securities losses due to changes in market conditions. Starting March 31, 2023 fair value adjustments on securities are included in operating income.

Management believes that the computation of non-GAAP operating earnings and operating earnings per share may facilitate the comparison of the Company to other companies in the financial services industry. The Company also adjusts certain equity related measures to exclude intangible assets due to the importance of these measures to the investment community.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA