BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The consolidated financial statements (the “financial statements”) of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company” or “Berkshire”) have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The Company is a Delaware corporation and the holding company for Berkshire Bank (the “Bank”), a Massachusetts-chartered trust company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and Berkshire Insurance Group, Inc. These financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries and the Bank’s consolidated subsidiaries. In consolidation, all significant intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated. All material wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries are consolidated unless GAAP requires otherwise.

The Company has evaluated subsequent events for potential recognition and/or disclosure through the date these consolidated financial statements were issued.

These interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X, and accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared according to GAAP have been omitted.

The results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and note disclosures Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. In management’s opinion, all adjustment’s necessary for a fair statement are reflected in the interim periods presented.

Reclassifications

Certain items in prior financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Prior Period Acquisition

The Company completed the acquisition of Commerce Bancshares Corp. (“Commerce”), the parent company of Commerce Bank & Trust Company (“Commerce Bank”), at the close of business on October 13, 2017. With this acquisition, the Company established a market position in Worcester, New England’s second largest city. Additionally, this acquisition was a catalyst for the Company’s decision to relocate its corporate headquarters to Boston and to expand its Greater Boston market initiatives. This acquisition also increased the Company’s total assets over the $10 billion Dodd Frank Act threshold for additional regulatory requirements.

The acquisition was accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations. Due to the complexity in valuing the acquired loans and the significant amount of data inputs required, the valuation of the loans is not yet final. Fair value estimates are based on the information available, and are subject to change up to one year after the closing date of the acquisition as additional information relative to the closing date fair values become available. In the first quarter of 2018 the Company did not recognize a material measurement period adjustment. Management continues to review initial estimates on certain areas such as loan valuations and the deferred tax asset.

Recently Adopted Accounting Principles

Effective January 1, 2018, the following new accounting guidance was adopted by the Company:


•	ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (additional information is disclosed in Note 14 - Revenue of the Consolidated Financial Statements);


•	ASU No. 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

The adoption of these accounting standards did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, “Income statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income” which will allow a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. These amendments are effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. For interim periods within those fiscal years, early adoption of the amendment is permitted including public business entities for reporting periods for which financial statements have not yet been issued. The Company elected to early adopt ASU 2018-02 during the first quarter of 2018, and elected to reclassify the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 from AOCI to retained earnings. The reclassification increased AOCI and decreased retained earnings by $896 thousand, with no net effect on total shareholders’ equity.

Future Application of Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases”. The new pronouncement improves the transparency and comparability of financial reporting around leasing transactions and more closely aligns accounting for leases with the recently issued International Financial Reporting Standard. The pronouncement affects all entities that are participants to leasing agreements. From a lessee accounting perspective, the ASU requires a lessee to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for operating leases and changes many key definitions, including the definition of a lease. The ASU includes a short-term lease exception for leases with a term of twelve months or less, in which a lessee can make an accounting policy election not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. Lessees will continue to differentiate between finance leases (previously referred to as capital leases) and operating leases, using classification criteria that are substantially similar to the previous guidance. For lessees, the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease have not significantly changed from previous GAAP. From a lessor accounting perspective, the guidance is largely unchanged, except for targeted improvements to align with new terminology under lessee accounting and with the updated revenue recognition guidance in Topic 606. For sale-leaseback transactions, for a sale to occur the transfer must meet the sale criteria under the new revenue standard, ASC 606. Entities will not be required to reassess transactions previously accounted under then existing guidance.

Additionally, the ASU includes additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures required by lessees and lessors to help users better understand the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The modified retrospective approach includes a number of optional practical expedients that entities may elect to apply as well as transition guidance specific to nonstandard leasing transactions. The Company is currently evaluating the provisions of ASU No. 2016-02 to determine the potential impact the new standard will have on the Company's consolidated financial statements. It is expected that assets and liabilities will increase based on the present value of remaining lease payments for leases in place at the adoption date; however, this is not expected to be material to the Company's results of operations or financial position. The Company continues to identify a complete inventory of arrangements containing a lease and accumulating the lease data necessary to apply the guidance. We will continue to review contracts up through the effective date and may identify additional leases or leases embedded in arrangements that will be within the scope of the new guidance.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” This ASU improves financial reporting by requiring timelier recording of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments. The ASU requires companies to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Forward-looking information will now be used in credit loss estimates. The ASU requires enhanced disclosures to provide better understanding surrounding significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of a company’s portfolio. These disclosures include qualitative and quantitative requirements that provide additional information about the amounts recorded in the financial statements. Additionally, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. Most debt instruments will require a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings on the statement of financial position as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted (modified retrospective approach). However, there is instrument-specific transition guidance. ASU No. 2016-13 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early application will be permitted for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is evaluating the provisions of ASU No. 2016-13, and will closely monitor developments and additional guidance to determine the potential impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements. The Company expects the primary changes to be the application of the expected credit loss model to the financial statements. In addition, the Company expects the guidance to change the presentation of credit losses within the available-for-sale fixed maturities portfolio through an allowance method rather than as a direct write-down. The expected credit loss model will require a financial asset to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance method for available-for-sale debt securities will allow the Company to record reversals of credit losses if the estimate of credit losses declines. The Company is in the process of identifying and implementing required changes to loan loss estimation models and processes and evaluating the impact of this new accounting guidance, which at the date of adoption is expected to increase the allowance for credit losses with a resulting negative adjustment to retained earnings.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles: Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment.” The ASU simplifies the test for goodwill impairment by eliminating the second step of the current two-step method. Under the new accounting guidance, entities will compare the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. If the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, the entity is required to recognize an impairment charge for this amount. Current guidance requires an entity to proceed to a second step, whereby the entity would determine the fair value of its assets and liabilities. The new method applies to all reporting units. The performance of a qualitative assessment is still allowable. This accounting guidance is effective prospectively for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect adoption to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities.” The purpose of this updated guidance is to better align a company’s financial reporting for hedging activities with the economic objectives of those activities. ASU No. 2017-12 is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption, including adoption in an interim period, permitted. ASU 2017-12 requires a modified retrospective transition method in which the Company will recognize the cumulative effect of the change on the opening balance of each affected component of equity in the consolidated balance sheet as of the date of adoption. While the Company continues to assess all potential impacts of the standard, we currently expect adoption to have an immaterial impact on our consolidated financial statements.