Silver State Schools Credit Union continued to lose money in thefourth quarter, posting a net loss of $2.8 million, and finishingthe year with a net loss of $8.4 million, the Las Vegas creditunion said.

The $2.8 million loss mirrored the third quarter results.However, that compared with a net loss of $21.4 million in 2010,and the credit union's private insurer, American Share Insurance,gave Silver State Schools, another $4.4 million capital boost inDecember “after consideration of the steady progress made by thecredit union over the past 12-18 months,” the credit union said ina statement.

“We look forward to continued improvement in 2012,” said SilverState Schools CEO Andy Hunter, the retired Patelco CU CEO who took over earlierthis past summer.

ASI had previously given Silver State Schools a $22 millioncapital assistance note in February 2010.

The struggling Silver State Schools lost its spot as Nevada's largest credit union during the year,and said provision for loan losses continued to have a significantimpact on earnings. Silver State Schools also formerly operated 21branches from Las Vegas to Reno but has since shrunk that number tonine.

Loan loss allowances increased to $32 million on Dec. 31,compared with $30.2 million at the end of the third quarter and$24.8 million at the end of last year.

Once a billion-dollar credit union, Silver State Schools endedthe year with deposits of $623 million, total assets of $653million, and loans of $542 million, adding in its statement thatliquidity continues to remains strong and regulatory net worthstands at $27.3 million.

“Although building reserves for loan losses has been a priority,we also continue to report a strong 3.72% net interest marginand our operating expenses decreased from $32.4 million in 2010 to$26.0 million in 2011. These numbers are signs of progressthat should not be overlooked,” Hunter said.