William Quinn is sometimes called “The Lowell Five Boy Scout,” and for good reason.
That’s because Quinn, vice president of commercial lending at The Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank, effortlessly blends his knowledge of community banking with his longstanding passion for community service, according to Lowell Five CEO Robert Caruso.
“He lives every day thanking his blessings. He’s just that type of guy,” said Caruso of Quinn’s commitment to multiple local causes. But he said Quinn also “handles more loans than any other officers. He has the largest portfolio. He’s so well known in the community.”
A lifelong resident of Lowell, Quinn, 60, started his banking career as a teller 38 years ago after graduating from what is now the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a degree in accounting and finance. After working as a teller for nine months, then moving to the credit side and eventually to the loan side, Quinn now deals with commercial, real estate and industrial loans at Lowell Five Cent, where he’s worked for the past 21 years.
Quinn credits his family upbringing for his strong work ethic and commitment to community efforts.
“Doing community service is what my parents brought my sisters and I up doing,” Quinn said. “We had to work our way through life to get what we wanted, so they brought us up with good virtues.”
Quinn is intimately involved with Lowell-based Alternative House, which shelters battered women and their children. He is chairman of the board of directors there, and for the past eight years has co-chaired the fundraising committee whose largest effort is a road race, the annual Thanks 4 Giving race and walk, which last year raised $25,000.
Quinn is also corporator of Lowell General Hospital where he serves on the golf and cancer walk committees, the latter having raised just under $1 million last year; he is a member and past president of the Lowell Rotary Club; and Quinn has also been involved with the March of Dimes, helping grow the organization’s annual walk fundraisers.
At Lowell Five, Quinn said one of the big perks to his role is connecting with all types of local firms. “I get to go out and see people’s businesses, all sorts of businesses – small, medium and large. That’s what makes it more interesting,” he said.
Since he joined the bank, Quinn said the firm’s assets have grown from $350 million to $935 million.
One transaction that stands out for Quinn involved helping an adult daycare center called The Community Family that works with Alzheimer’s patients acquire and renovate a new building. “Right after it opened, it was filled with people, and it was a much better location,” Quinn said. “Sometimes it’s those types of things where it doesn’t have to be an $8 million loan” that helps out people in a tough situation.
And, Quinn noted, the center stayed in Lowell: “Any time you can retain business in the area, it’s a good thing. That was seven years ago. They’re still operating and doing well.”
Quinn, who originally came to Lowell Five Cent in the ’90s as a consultant completing loan workouts during the economic recession, noted that being a lifelong resident of Lowell has had a big impact on his work at the bank.
“That’s been key in allowing me to stay local and stay involved in local organizations,” Quinn said. “I know the area and the people.”
