Barkley, Rawls, and Tucker Bolster Berkshire's Commitment to Fueling Small
Businesses
BOSTON, Sept. 15,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.
(NYSE: BHLB), the parent company of Berkshire Bank, a socially
responsible community bank with financial centers in New England
and New York, is excited to
announce the addition of three seasoned lending professionals to
its 44 Business Capital team.
Shay Barkley, Josh Rawls, and Tracey Tucker join Berkshire Bank's 44
Business Capital team of experienced lending professionals.
This expansion further supports Berkshire's Exciting Strategic Transformation
(BEST) program and ongoing commitment to businesses and
entrepreneurs. The new team members will provide additional lending
expertise and support to each client relationship. For over
30 years, 44 Business Capital has provided financing solutions
to hundreds of businesses in a variety of industries and is
consistently ranked among the top 20 bank SBA 7(a) loan originators
in the country.
"Shay, Josh, and Tracey are talented lenders who know firsthand
the impact that sound lending has on businesses and the communities
they serve," said Greg Poehlmann,
SVP, Business Banking at 44 Business Capital. "Having spent decades
in the SBA lending environment, they know creating value for
businesses strengthens communities. This kind of knowledge and
ability is essential for small business lending."
More information on their backgrounds is included
below.
Shay
Barkley, First Vice President, SBA
Lending
Shay has over 30 years of banking experience specializing in SBA
lending to help companies across the nation secure over
$325 million in 7a, 504 and USDA
funding.
Shay's passion is to serve entrepreneurs with a consultative
approach by listening to the history, passion, and goals. This
triggers questions to help think outside the box and come up with
the best financing scenario for each special small business
owner.
Residing in Atlanta, Georgia,
Shay is an active volunteer in animal shelters. She earned a BBA
degree in Business Administration from Georgia
State University.
Josh
Rawls, First Vice President SBA
Lending
Josh Rawls has more than 20 years
of banking experience and will help expand 44 Business Capital's
small business lending footprint to Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. For the last seven years he was
an SBA Lender with Regions Bank. Prior to that he worked as an SBA
underwriter, commercial underwriter, and as a branch manager. He
enjoys working with small business owners to create practical
solutions that fit their needs.
Josh and his wife, Degee, live in Hoover, Alabama with their son. He is a
graduate of the University of Southern
Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration in Banking and Finance.
Tracey Tucker,
First Vice President, SBA Lending
Tracey Tucker of Denver, CO joins 44 Business Capital with over
25 years of SBA 7a and 504 lending experience. She is
well-recognized in the Colorado
market for being a top lender for servicing small businesses.
Tracey works passionately with entrepreneurs with a consultative
approach by listening closely to borrowers to meet their financial
goals.
Tracey started her SBA career as an underwriter for Norwest
Bank. Prior to 44 Business Capital, she was a Senior SBA Lender for
Continental Bank and has served as Vice President of SBA Lending at
Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, Wachovia and Heller Financial. Her
emphasis has been on commercial real estate, business acquisition
and franchises. Tracey earned a BSBA in Finance from Creighton University.
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 $11.6 billion in assets and operates more than
100 financial centers 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.
ABOUT 44 BUSINESS CAPITAL
44 Business Capital, a
direct small business lending division of Berkshire Bank, provides
SBA Loans to Small Businesses. Small businesses are defined as
companies with less than $5MM in net profit and less than $15MM in
net worth. 44 Business Capital has offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New
Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois. Our clients include but are
not limited to manufacturers, restaurants, professional services,
retailers, wholesalers/distributors, healthcare professionals. With
terms up to 25 years and fully amortizing (i.e., no call or balloon
provisions), these SBA loans provide long-term certainty in an
uncertain economic environment. Member FDIC Equal Housing
Lender.
Berkshire Bank Media Contact:
Alicia Jacobs AVP,
Public Relations Officer
Tel: (413) 242-6540 x 6540
ajacobs1@berkshirebank.com
44 Business Capital Contact:
Greg Poehlmann
Senior Vice President
Tel: (267) 434-2368
gpoehlmann@44businesscapital.com
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
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SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.