Protecting Your Privacy

Berkshire Bank and our affiliates (collectively “Berkshire”), provide a comprehensive line of banking, investment, and insurance products and services. We are committed to protecting the confidentiality of personal information you provide to any of our affiliate companies. At the same time, the information you provide can help us introduce you to other Berkshire products and services that may help you meet your financial goals.

Information We Collect

The type of nonpublic personal information we collect depends on the type of product or service you obtain from us. “Nonpublic personal information" is information about you, which is not available from public sources, and is obtained in connection with providing you with a financial product or service. For example, nonpublic personal information includes information regarding your account balance, payment history, and deposit account activity. We may collect this personal information from the following sources:

• Information we receive from you on applications or other forms you may complete and provide to us, such as your name, address, social security number, assets, income, and, in the case of applications for insurance, your health and medical information;
• Information about your transactions with us, with members of other Berkshire companies or others, such as your account balance, payment history, products, and services used;
• Information such as your creditworthiness and your payment history that we receive from third parties, such as credit bureaus.

Information We Disclose

We may share information with our affiliates about our experiences or transactions with you or your account in order to help you complete financial transactions or make you aware of services and products from which you may benefit. The personal information we collect and share with affiliates may include transaction and experience information from our account records such as name and address. We do not share medical or health information among our affiliates or with third parties except to process transactions or to provide services you have requested or initiated.

Under certain circumstances, we disclose personal information about you to "nonaffiliated third parties" (i.e., third parties that are not members of the Berkshire family of companies). For example, we disclose personal information about you to third parties to assist us in servicing your Berkshire account, to government entities as required by law, or to anyone in response to subpoenas, and to credit bureaus. We will not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you to any other third parties, except as permitted by law.

We may disclose all of the information we collect as described above, except health information, to other companies that perform marketing services for us or to other financial institutions with which we have joint marketing agreements. For example, we may, with a nonaffiliated company, jointly offer insurance, investments or credit cards.

Exceptions to Joint Marketing

• We do not share this information about customers who reside in Vermont and California.
• We do not share any information derived from deposit relationships with us about customers who reside in Massachusetts.
• From time to time we may share your nonpublic personal information with our affiliates so that they may offer you products and services we think will interest you

If you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive customer, we will continue to adhere to the privacy policies and practices described in this notice.

Our Security Procedures

Access to your personal and account information is restricted to those employees who need to know that information as part of their job, to service your account or to provide products and services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are reasonably designed to guard your nonpublic personal information.

Accuracy of Customer Information

We recognize that the accuracy of your personal and account information is critical to you and to that end we have internal controls to keep customer information as accurate and complete as we can. If you believe that any information about you is not accurate, please let us know.

Internet Banking Privacy

Safeguarding your personal information when interacting with us via the Internet is also extremely important. We apply the standards discussed above in caring for your personal information. When browsing our web site, personal information is not collected. Some areas of our web site require information, such as your e-mail address or your account number, to enable you to perform certain tasks (e.g., to review your accounts or correspond with us). In these cases, we collect the information necessary to interact with you.

We are strongly committed to our relationship with you and want to be sure you understand the steps we have taken to protect your personal information. If you have any questions or comments, please write us at P. O. Box 1308, Pittsfield, MA 01202-1308 Attn: Compliance Officer.

The Problem of Identity Theft

Identity theft is a growing crime in our country. Each day, thousands of people become victims of identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information and uses it to establish credit, charge items, or borrow money using your name.

Protect Your Identity

• Tear up unused credit offers and other documents containing personal information before discarding them.
• Guard your social security number.
• Don't release information to people you do not know, especially over the phone or Internet.
• Review bank statements for accuracy.

If you are denied credit for no apparent reason, obtain a copy of your credit report.

If You Become a Victim

• Contact your bank and all others with whom you have a financial relationship.
• File a police report if you have had a loss.
• Report the fraud to the major credit bureaus:

For additional help, call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-ID-THEFT or visit their web site at: www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

This privacy statement applies to individuals and not to business entities or business transactions. We reserve the right to make changes to this statement. The statement is for general guidance and does not constitute a contract, nor does it modify or amend any agreements we have with you.

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