Berkshire Hills Bancorp boosted its third quarter net income 11.4 percent year-over-year, as it beefed up compliance and risk staff in preparation to cross the $10 billion asset threshold.

Net income at the holding company for Berkshire Bank totaled $16.4 million, compared with $14.7 million in the year-ago period. The company posted net revenue totaling $76.9 million, which represented an increase of $4.9 million, or 6.8 percent, from the prior quarter.

Total loans were just over $6 billion, representing an increase of 3 percent annualized during the quarter. That was driven largely by 6 percent annualized commercial loan growth with most of that concentrated in New York and Connecticut.

Berkshire also saw 7 percent annualized growth in deposits, which totaled $5.7 billion at Sept. 30. That was boosted by growth in demand deposits, including commercial balances.

Assets totaled $7.9 billion in the third quarter, compared with $7.8 billion in the year-ago period. CEO Michael Daly said on the company’s conference call that over the last three years, Berkshire has implemented a full enterprise risk management system and new asset-liability management, as well as more than 40 new staff members to its compliance and risk departments in preparation to cross the $10 billion asset threshold. That new staff accounted for more than $3.5 million in costs associated with crossing that line, and Berkshire also spent about $750,000 this year alone to prepare for Dodd-Frank Act Stress Testing once it crosses that threshold.

Company completed the sale of two outlying branches in the third quarter and is in the process of consolidating another three branches, which is targeted for completion shortly after year-end.

The company is planning to close its acquisition of First Choice Bancorp later this year and will also open a branch in Boston’s financial district around that same time.