George Duncan, Enterprise Bank
George Duncan’s innovative ideas for financing the urban revitalization of Lowell continue to shape the city. Born in the multi-cultural neighborhood of Back Central, he attended Lowell High School, graduated early at the age of 17, and began his banking career under Homer Bourgeois at Union National Bank in 1957. Apart from 1961-62 when he joined the U.S. Air Force, he would work in banking for the next 67 years. In 1973 he left Union National for First Bank, which was owned by Edward Redstone, where he would later become chairman and chief executive officer, and then in 1989 he founded Enterprise Bank where he also became chairman and chief executive officer. The main branch was deliberately located in a historic building in downtown Lowell, the old city hall at 222 Merrimack Street. At the same time in the 1970s and 80s, George also joined in the momentum created by Paul Tsongas, Patrick Mogan, and Dick and Nancy Donahue to revitalize the city. After hearing Patrick Mogan speak one night, he decided that “The part that, I could play in this would be to try to fix up the downtown of Lowell [such as] the facades of the buildings…the only way to do this would be to have a lending program that was financed by the banks themselves.” The result was the founding of the Lowell Development and Financial Corporation (LDFC) in 1975. George ran the LDFC from 1975-82. (See the interview with Allison Lamey and Germaine Vigeant-Trudel for further details on the LDFC.) Then, in the 1990s, during a conversation with Dick and Nancy Donahue, the idea of creating the Lowell Community Foundation was floated and George became its first president in 1997. (See the interview with Jay Linnehan and Chet Szablak for further details on the LDFC.)
Jack Clancy, Carole McOsker, and George Duncan, December 1988 before Enterprise Bank opened for business on January 3, 1989.
The Interview
In his interview here, George recounts his early years growing up in Back Central, the founding of Enterprise Bank, the founding of the LDFC and its first loan to Barney’s Deli on Middlesex Street, and the founding of the Lowell Community Foundation. His reminiscences of Paul Tsongas and Patrick Mogan provide insight into the vision they generated for the city. His wife, Carol Duncan, came up with the name “Enterprise” for the bank; she shared his commitment to the city and served on numerous non-profit Boards, most notably as the Executive Director of Girls, Inc. in Lowell for 22 years. The sense of social responsibility that drove them both rests on the simple statement, “Get involved!” Becoming involved in a community exposes you to the community’s needs, puts you in touch with other community leaders, and in turn leads to leadership roles.
Patrick Mogan, Lowell Sun Photograph Collection; image courtesy of the Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Patrick Mogan, Marty T. Meehan Collection, image courtesy of the Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell.