FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


              BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP, INC. TO ISSUE SECOND QUARTER
                       EARNINGS RELEASE ON JULY 22, 2004;
            CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR JULY 23, 2004 AT 10:00 A.M. (ET)


PITTSFIELD,  MA, June 24, 2004 - Berkshire  Hills Bancorp,  Inc. (the "Company")
(AMEX:BHL), the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the "Bank"), today announced
that it will issue its earnings  release for the quarter  ended June 30, 2004 at
approximately 4:15 P.M. eastern time on Thursday, July 22, 2004.

The Company will conduct a post-earnings  conference call at 10:00 A.M.  eastern
time on Friday, July 23, 2004. President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael P.
Daly and Chief Financial Officer,  Wayne F. Patenaude will discuss highlights of
the Company's  second  quarter 2004  financial  results.  Information  about the
conference call follows:

      Dial-in and Access Code:           1-800-289-0528; 178050
      Replay Dial-in and Access Code:    1-888-203-1112; 178050
      Replay Dates:                      July 23, 2004 at 1:00 P.M. (ET) through
                                         July 30, 2004 at 4:00 P.M. (ET)

All  interested  parties  are  welcome  to access  the  conference  call and are
requested to call in a few minutes  prior to 10:00 A.M. (ET) to register for the
event. The Company has prepared an investor  presentation to accompany the audio
call.  The  investor  presentation  will be  available  on the  Bank's Web site,
http://www.berkshirebank.com  beginning at approximately  8:30 A.M. eastern time
----------------------------
on July 23, 2004. To access this information, which will be in PDF format, click
on the "Conference  Call" icon located to the right of the Company's stock quote
on the Bank's home page.

The  presentation  by Messrs.  Daly and  Patenaude  will last  approximately  15
minutes, followed by another 15 minutes scheduled for questions and answers.

Berkshire  Hills  Bancorp,  Inc. is the  holding  company  for  Berkshire  Bank.
Established in 1846, Berkshire Bank is one of Massachusetts'  oldest and largest
independent  banks,  and is the  largest  banking  institution  based in western
Massachusetts. The Bank is headquartered in Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  with 11
branch offices serving  communities  throughout  Berkshire  County.  The Bank is
committed  to  continuing  to  operate  as  an  independent   bank,   delivering
exceptional  customer service and a broad array of  competitively  priced retail
and commercial products to its customers.

                                       ###


MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT:

ROSE A. BOROTTO
413-236-3144
RBOROTTO@BERKSHIREBANK.COM