A $6 billion lift

When Bruce Marks sat down a decade ago with Bank of America's future chief executive, Hugh McColl, the Boston affordable lending activist did not mince words. "I think we have a home buyer's program that is top of the line, but we understand that all bankers are evil and all you care about is maximizing your profits at any cost," Marks told McColl, then the chairman of NationsBank.

But yesterday, Marks was all smiles around the corporate banking giant, as Bank of America's current chief agreed to funnel $6 billion in home mortgage loans through Marks' Boston-based affordable lending organization. The commitment adds an extra $3 billion over the next 10 years to Bank of America's current pledge to Marks's Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America.

It was perhaps the largest victory yet for Marks, a self-styled "urban terrorist" who has made a name for himself with raucous protests at shareholders' meetings and threats of class-action lawsuits. But as Marks' national stature has grown, the longtime opponent of large financial institutions has found himself in an increasingly delicate position: Once the industry's nemesis, he now oversees billions of dollars from nearly every major bank in the country.

The paradox goes to the heart of Marks, 48, a beloved and reviled figure in Boston's financial scene. His Neighborhood Assistance Corp. ranks as the nation's largest affordable housing trust, with more than $10 billion in commitments from banks over the last decade.

Neighborhood Assistance channels the banks' money to low- and moderate-income buyers, offering them affordable interest rates, with no money down and no closing costs. While most banks require borrowers to meet a strict set of credit tests, Marks's organization accepts applicants with little credit history.

"I'm extremely proud of working with NACA for more than seven years," said Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive, who is in Boston this week to discuss the bank's proposed merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp. "Helping families buy homes is one of the most important things we do."

Lewis said the money will allow an additional 40,000 low- and moderate-income families to buy homes. Neighborhood Assistance Corp. has made 20,000 loans since it was founded about 15 years ago, Marks said.

But others look skeptically on Marks and his organization. Though touting itself as the "most effective organization of its kind in the country," Marks' Neighborhood Assistance Corp. refuses to release information on how many of its clients are late on their loan payments, one marker of success.

"Since he doesn't share his delinquency data, it's not available for public scrutiny," said Tom Callahan, executive director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. "Without that, it's difficult to convince banks that low-income lending is the way to go."

But Marks said his organization withholds the late payment information because "we don't think that's relevant." He said Neighborhood Assistance Corp. provides financial counseling and other aid for people who are late making payments, shielding "99.75 percent" of his borrowers from foreclosure.

And Bank of America backs him, saying that several of the organizations that lend to low- and moderate-income people do not publicly provide delinquency ratings. The data show that Marks is "meeting the needs of homebuyers," said Douglas B. Woodruff, president of Bank of America's community development banking, but he declined to make the delinquency information public.

Others have questioned Marks' hot-and-cold approach to banks, saying that he criticizes them only until they cut his organization a check.

"I don't think Bruce has a lot of credibility in the community reinvestment field anymore," said Joseph Kriesberg, president of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations. "He at one time is extremely negative on a particular bank, then he turns around a couple of years later and is extremely positive."

When Bank of America unveiled a plan last week to commit $750 billion toward affordable lending, an assortment of community organizations assailed the bank, saying the pledge lacked specifics.

Not Marks. He strongly praised Bank of America, saying that they have an excellent record of making good on their commitments.

"Bank of America is committed to giving the same opportunities to a working person as to a wealthy person," he said yesterday. "Bank of America and Ken Lewis have a respect for working people and an understanding of working people."

Bank of America and Fleet executives are scheduled to testify at hearings before the Federal Reserve Board this week, and Bank of America has scheduled a special shareholders meeting March 17 to vote on the proposed merger.

Marks first gained fame in the early 1990s, when his legions of protesters with bullhorns and bright yellow T-shirts disrupted Fleet's shareholder meetings and accused the bank of being "racist" and a "loan shark."

Finally, in 1994, Marks' guerrilla tactics became too much for Fleet, and the bank agreed to commit $140 million to his organization.

Other banks fell into line as well. Bank of Boston Corp. pledged $75 million that year, and NationsBank committed $500 million in 1995. And after a contentious campaign, First Union Corp. acquiesced in 1996 with a $150 million pledge.

But Marks' watershed moment came in 1999 with the $3 billion pledge from Bank of America, allowing Marks' organization to expand nationally.

The program has inspired fierce loyalty among many of its borrowers. Robert and Sheri Bridgeman, who recently bought a four-family Colonial house in Dorchester for $400,000 using a Neighborhood Assistance Corp. mortgage, said the program has become a "way of life for us." They said they could not have afforded the down payment without the extra help.

"They not only helped us get in the home, they helped us keep the home," Robert Bridgeman said.

Even Marks's old nemesis, Fleet, found some words of praise for his work yesterday.

"The fact of the matter is, the two organizations are joined now to get money into the community," said Chad Gifford, Fleet's chief executive.

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com.