Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., the parent
\ncompany of Berkshire Bank, which has offices
\nin Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Halfmoon,
\nsigned an agreement for the acquisition of privately
\nheld Firestone Financial Corp. as an operating
\nsubsidiary of Berkshire Bank.<\/p>\n
Based in Needham, Mass., Firestone is a longstanding
\ncommercial specialty finance company
\nproviding secured installment loan equipment
\nfinancing for small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n
“Firestone is a terrific fit for Berkshire Bank,”
\nsaid Berkshire CEO Michael Daly.<\/p>\n
“The strength
\nof the management team and their conservative
\napproach to credit has made them a solid performing
\nfinance company. Our strategic decision
\nto complement our strong asset based lending
\nplatform with this commercial lending business
\nenables us to further diversify our assets while
\nexpanding our client offerings. We look forward
\nto adding Firestone’s expertise to our organization,
\nand taking advantage of the synergies available
\nthrough this acquisition.”<\/p>\n
George Bacigalupo, Berkshire’s executive vice
\npresident of commercial banking, said his company
\nis “pleased to expand our commercial platform
\nwith this attractive acquisition. The addition of
\nFirestone enhances both the geographic and categorical
\ndiversification of our loan portfolio while
\nproviding a valuable additional growth channel
\nfor us. The business will continue to be run by
\nFirestone’s talented management team and their
\nexperience and conservative relationship-based approach makes this a great fit for our organization.”<\/p>\n
Firestone CEO David Cohen said with Berkshire’s
\nresources, “We believe we can be a significant
\ncontributor to the continued growth and
\nprofitability of this organization. We remain committed
\nto our markets and customers, and through
\nthis partnership we will be able to offer additional
\nservices to help facilitate their continued growth.”<\/p>\n
Firestone has been in business for 50 years
\nand is led by industry veterans Cohen and Scott
\nA. Cooper, both of whom joined the company in
\nthe mid-1980s. The senior management team will
\ncontinue to run the business following the closing.<\/p>\n
As of March 31, Firestone had approximately
\n$190 million in loans outstanding spread across
\nmultiple industries and market areas. Borrowers
\nare widely dispersed with no state comprising more
\nthan 11 percent of the outstanding balance and
\nthe largest borrower representing just 1.2 percent
\nof outstandings.<\/p>\n
The weighted average yield on the portfolio
\nat quarter end was 9.8 percent and its weighted
\naverage remaining maturity was 36 months. The
\nportfolio’s net charge-off rate has not exceeded 0.23
\npercent in any of the last three years.<\/p>\n
Berkshire Hills Bancorp has approximately
\n$7.3 billion in assets and 96 full service branch offices
\nin Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and
\nVermont providing personal and business banking,
\ninsurance, and wealth management services. For
\nmore information, visit www.berkshirebank.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Berkshire Bank, which has offices in Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Halfmoon, signed an agreement for the acquisition of privately held Firestone Financial Corp. as an operating subsidiary of Berkshire Bank….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[53,57,70],"class_list":["post-16995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-financial-planning-investments","tag-banking","tag-business-news","tag-financial"],"yoast_head":"\r\n