LAS VEGAS — With the state leading the nation in foreclosures, Nevada Federal Credit Union, the state's largest, said Monday it considers itself fortunate to have steered its members away from subprime and despite the gloom is doing well in first-time home buyer mortgages.

"We've been careful about our mortgage lending all along and we've had our mortgage officers spend a lot of time counseling members against those exotic loans like pay option or negative amortization," declared Bradley Beal, president/CEO of the $822 million Nevada FCU.

While the bad news continues of what one CU executive here called the daily "imploda-meter" of mortgage firms, Nevada FCU's operation, said Beal, "is alive and kicking" continuing to show healthy gains with 44 new fixed first-time loans on the books this year totaling $9 million. That's a 40% jump from a year ago.