Berkshire Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, entered into definitive agreements with three buyers to sell 10 of its upstate and eastern New York branches, consisting of eight offices in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Columbia counties, one office in Whitehall and one office in East Syracuse.
The sales include approximately $485.5 million in deposits, $60.5 million of related residential mortgage and consumer loans along with all branch premises and equipment. The transactions exclude Berkshire’s commercial banking business.
Hudson Valley Credit Union is purchasing eight locations in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Columbia counties, Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company is purchasing one location in Whitehall and Pathfinder Bank is purchasing one location in East Syracuse. The buyers intend to offer employment to all associated staff. The sales are targeted for completion by the end of Q3/24, subject to customary regulatory approvals and associated system conversions. The sales will reduce Berkshire’s overall branch footprint from 96 to 86 locations.
“Our announcement today is another step in our continued efforts to create efficiencies in our branch network so we can continue to invest in our bankers and client experience to further improve our long-term profitability,” Nitin Mhatre, CEO of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, said. “The proposed sales will concentrate our overall geographic footprint and lower our expense run rate while strengthening focus in our core New York markets. The branch sales combined with a future securities sale will not materially increase borrowings and will be effectively neutral to full year 2024 earnings outlook.”
Berkshire Hills Bank will continue to operate 16 branches in New York.
“We continue to execute on opportunities to create efficiencies in our franchise,” David Rosato, CFO of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, said. “These transactions allow us to exit these branches without incurring severance or real estate costs while reducing expenses and contributing positively to our long-term profitability.”
RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisors to Berkshire Hills and Luse Gorman provided legal counsel for these transactions.
