All Proposals Approved by Shareholders;
Company Recaps 2021 Highlights
BOSTON, May 20, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB),
announced today that all four proposals were approved at its Annual
Meeting of Shareholders on May 18,
2022, with 93% of eligible outstanding shares represented at
the meeting.
All twelve director nominees were elected to serve a one-year
term, with each director receiving at least 95% of the shares
voted. The directors are Chairperson David
M. Brunelle, Baye Adofo-Wilson,
Esq., Nina A. Charnley,
John D. Davies, Dr. Mihir A. Desai, William
H. Hughes III, Jeffrey W.
Kip, Dr. Sylvia Maxfield,
Berkshire CEO Nitin J. Mhatre,
Laurie Norton Moffatt, Jonathan I. Shulman, and Michael A. Zaitzeff.
Shareholders further approved the following three proposals,
with each of the proposals receiving at least 96% of the shares
voted:
- An advisory vote to approve the Company's executive
compensation
- The ratification of the appointment of Crowe LLP as the
Company's independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal
year 2022
- The adoption of the Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. 2022 Equity
Incentive Plan
CEO Nitin Mhatre thanked the
board members for their resolute commitment to strong governance.
He also recognized the contributions of retiring director
Rheo Brouillard and honored the
outstanding service of former director Robert Curley, who passed away earlier this
year.
With improved earnings generation and increased shareholder
distributions, Berkshire's share
price grew strongly in 2021 and resulted in a 69% total shareholder
return (TSR), nearly twice the return registered by the KBW
Regional Bank Index (KRX) and more than three times higher than the
return of the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index (NYA).
Mr. Mhatre reported on the steady progress that Berkshire is making under its BEST strategic
transformation plan. He noted the improvement in return on equity,
which more than doubled year-over-year in 2021. He also noted the
Company's success in reaching the top quartile in ESG ratings
nationally among banks. Mr. Mhatre praised the entire organization
collectively working towards Berkshire's vision of becoming a
high-performing, leading socially responsible community bank.
ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank,
which is transforming what it means to bank its neighbors socially,
humanly, and digitally to empower the financial potential of
people, families, and businesses in its communities as it pursues
its vision of being the leading socially responsible omni-channel
community bank in the markets it serves. Berkshire Bank provides
business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management, and
investment services.
Headquartered in Boston,
Berkshire has approximately
$12.1 billion in assets and operates
105 branch offices 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.
CONTACTS
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.