Mass.’ Berkshire Bank’s head start as a CT ‘noisemaker’

Berkshire Bank's timing for entering Connecticut at least 18 months ahead of a fresh wave of out-of-state bank investment, including from a Massachusetts competitor, couldn't have been better, its chief says. The Pittsfield, Mass., bank bought out former Hartford lender, Connecticut Bank & Trust Co., in mid-2012, cementing its beachhead in the Nutmeg State ahead of West Springfield rival United Financial Corp.'s December declaration of its $369 million pending merger with Glastonbury's Rockville Bank.