Berkshire Bank Hires Veteran Connecticut Banking Professional Jeffrey Klaus as Regional President for Southern CT
Boston, MA – September 7, 2021 – Berkshire Bank, a socially responsible community-dedicated bank with locations primarily in New England and New York, and the banking subsidiary of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB), announced the hiring of Jeffrey Klaus as SVP, Regional President & Middle Market Team Leader in Southern Connecticut, based in New Haven.
"Adding values-guided, community-dedicated bankers to drive organic growth is essential to the success of Berkshire’s Exciting Strategic Transformation (BEST). Hiring successful community bankers like Jeff is key to our franchise growth at Berkshire Bank," said CEO Nitin Mhatre. "We have aligned the organization to reflect our mission to become the community bank of choice. With Jeff's deep ties to the local financial and civic communities and knowledge of the banking industry and local market, he will play a critical role in further expanding the Berkshire brand and client portfolio in Southern Connecticut."
Jeffrey Klaus is a seasoned banking professional with over 30 years of experience in the Connecticut banking industry. Klaus will lead the middle-market regional banking teams and have primary responsibility for new business originations, management of commercial banking relationships, and building deeper community connections in the Southern Connecticut market.
"This is an exciting time to be joining Berkshire Bank," Klaus said. "We are poised for growth and ready to take maximum advantage of the opportunities at play. I look forward to building on the current momentum and furthering our commitment to delivering a best-in-class customer experience, robust financial solutions, and enhancing our community impact."
Prior to his appointment at Berkshire Bank, he served as Regional President at Webster Bank. He has also held roles as market president at Bank of America and Fleet Bank and worked in commercial banking roles throughout Connecticut and in New York City. Jeffrey is recognized as being a long-time volunteer and community advocate having served on numerous business and not-for-profit boards with a particular focus on improving urban public education. Currently, Jeff serves as the Chairman of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of Rutgers College; and has an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut.
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About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Bank is transforming what it means to bank its neighbors socially, humanly, and digitally to empower the financial potential of people, families, and businesses in its communities as it pursues its vision of being the leading socially responsible omni-channel community bank in the markets it serves.
Berkshire Bank provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, wealth management, investment services. The Bank has approximately $12.3 billion in assets and operates 107 branch offices primarily in New England and New York. Headquartered in Boston, Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB) is the parent of Berkshire Bank and is a member of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. To learn more, call 800-773-5601 or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.