A day after Congressional lawmakers heard field testimony onforeclosure conditions in Nevada, the president of SONEPCO FCU ofLas Vegas said Friday measures taken by her now-merged CU andothers during the past year have kept underwater homeowner-membersin their homes.

Susanne Longson, former head of the $59 million SONEPCO prior toits December takeover by SCE FCU of Irwindale, Calif., saiddelinquencies have been reduced to zero on a once-underperforming$9.5 million mortgage portfolio thanks to extraordinary efforts towork closely with members.

“I'd call that pretty amazing.” said Longson, who described whatshe said was a pro-active policy using credit scores and other datato keep ahead of problem credits.

Longson spoke Thursday at a U.S. House Financial ServicesCommittee field hearing on the Nevada foreclosure crisis.

Longson, now vice president of the $502 million SCE FCU ofIrwindale, Calif., which took over the troubled SONEPCO, said the California CU “kept all theemployees and the branches and now we expect the computerconversion to be complete by April 30.”

In her testimony, Longson said prior to the start of the 2007-08mortgage meltdown, CUs “rarely used the terms we frequently heartoday with most having never processed a foreclosure, short-sale orloan modification.”

SONEPCO, she said, “has never foreclosed on a member during thisfinancial crisis.”

And she added, “in SONPECO's first 52 years of operation, ourtotal loan losses were $1.3 million. Let me say that again, 52years of operations – $1.3 million in losses. In the lastfour years, loan losses were over $4.8 million. For a $55 millioncredit union that is significant.”

As part of a CUNA push for member business legislation, Longsontold the panel CUs can be instrumental in creating jobs if Congresspasses legislation to lift the member business lending cap, alongwith supplemental capital legislation and a variety of otherregulatory-related bills. Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) thanked the CUindustry for being “proactive with your members to solvedelinquencies.”