PITTSFIELD, Mass., Oct. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Bank, a
wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:
BHLB), announced today the signing of an asset
purchase agreement with 44 Business Capital, LLC and Parke Bank under which Berkshire will acquire the business model of
44 Business Capital and certain other assets of Parke Bank's SBA 7(a) loan program
operations. As part of the agreement, 44 Business Capital's
entire team, along with its leadership, Greg Poehlmann, Phil
Rapone Jeff Sherry and Joe
Dreyer will join Berkshire.
44 Business Capital, consistently one of the top U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) lenders, is a market leading provider
and facilitator of SBA guaranteed loans. Headquartered in
Blue Bell, PA, the operation was
founded in 2009 as a joint venture with Parke Bank to originate, service and sell SBA
loans in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 2015, the group was
recognized by the National Association of Government Guaranteed
Lenders as a champion of veterans small business lending.
Michael P. Daly, Berkshire's Chief Executive Officer stated,
"We are excited to have the team from 44 Business Capital join the
Berkshire family. The group has
established a strong track record and reputation for small business
lending and this partnership complements our existing SBA program
extremely well. The combined operation diversifies and
expands our SBA focused reach while leveraging our traditional
small business and Firestone platforms. We look forward to
welcoming them and their customers to America's Most Exciting
Bank®."
The transaction is subject to receipt of required regulatory
approvals and is expected to be completed during the first quarter
of 2016.
BACKGROUND
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of
Berkshire Bank – America's Most Exciting Bank®. The
Company has over $7.8 billion in
assets and 93 full-service branch offices in Massachusetts, New
York, Connecticut, and
Vermont providing personal and
business banking, insurance and wealth management services.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This document contains
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are several 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. Berkshire does not undertake any obligation to
update forward-looking statements.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations Contact
Allison O'Rourke; Investor Relations
Officer; 413-236-3149
Media Contact
Elizabeth Mach; First Vice
President, Marketing Officer; 413-445-8390
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SOURCE Berkshire Bank