Assigns Positive Rating Outlook
BOSTON, July 13,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
("Berkshire Hills" or the "Company") (NYSE: BHLB), the parent
company of Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), announced that Moody's
Investors Service ("Moody's"), in a Rating Action report dated
June 21, 2022, assigned first time
ratings to Berkshire Hills and the Bank. Moody's assigned the Bank
a Long-Term Deposit Rating of "A3". In addition, Moody's assigned
the Bank and the Company an investment grade Long-Term Issuer
Rating of "Baa3". The rating outlook is "Positive" for both the
Company and the Bank.*
![(PRNewsfoto/Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.) (PRNewsfoto/Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1626839/BHLB_Logo1.jpg)
According to the Moody's report, the ratings reflect "the firm's
strong balance sheet characterized by high capitalization and
robust deposit funding and liquidity, along with a relatively new
business strategy, which is in the midst of execution." Moody's
expects that "over the next 12 to 18 months Berkshire Hills'
profitability performance will improve as it continues to execute
its strategic transformation plan known as BEST that was launched
in 2021." Moody's views Berkshire Hills' risk appetite as
"conservative and that its refined loan portfolio mix should
support sound asset quality performance."
Berkshire CFO Subhadeep Basu
stated, "Moody's has recognized our strong financial position,
improving profitability and asset quality, and conservative risk
appetite. They have noted that we are positioned for profitability
improvement from rising interest rates and our strategic balance
sheet changes. We are pleased to have received an A3 long-term Bank
deposit rating and an investment grade issuer rating with a
Positive Outlook that also includes our targeted operational
efficiency improvement through the ongoing execution of our BEST
strategic transformation plan."
Furthermore, Moody's assigned a Baa3 investment grade rating to
the $100 million sustainability bond
issuance by Berkshire on
June 30, 2022. Berkshire is the first U.S. community bank
holding company to issue a bond dedicated to supporting social and
environmental projects. In addition to the Moody's rating,
Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company, and the global leader in
high-quality ESG research, ratings, and data, independently
verified that Berkshire's
Sustainable Financing Framework "is credible and impactful and
aligns with the International Capital Market Association's (ICMA)
Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021, Green Bond Principles 2021 and
Social Bond Principles 2021"**
"The ratings from Moody's and second-party opinion of our
Sustainable Financing Framework from Sustainalytics further
highlight Berkshire's unique
comeback story and support the progress we are making towards our
vision to be a high-performing, leading socially responsible
community bank in New England and beyond," added Berkshire CEO
Nitin Mhatre.
ABOUT BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank.
The Bank's goal is to be a high-performing, leading socially
responsible community bank in New England, Upstate New York, and
beyond. 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.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This news release 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," "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 release.
Berkshire does not undertake any
obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Note Regarding Rating
* A rating is not investment or financial advice and is not a
recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. Ratings may be
subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning
rating organization. Each rating agency has its own methodology for
assigning ratings and, accordingly, each rating should be evaluated
independently of any other rating.
Note Regarding Second Party
Opinion
** Sustainalytics' second party opinion is provided for
informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement
of any securities, product or project, does not constitute
investment or financial advice, and does not represent any type of
credit or securities rating or an assessment of the issuer's
economic performance, financial obligations nor of its
creditworthiness.
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.