Fremont Warns of Possible Writedowns

Fremont General Corp., the Brea, Calif.-based holding company for a bank and mortgage servicer, has announced that it may need to record additional asset writedowns and reserves in its 2007 financial statements that could result in further losses or adjustments to regulatory capital. Fremont, which does business primarily through its wholly owned subsidiary Fremont Investment & Loan, said that either development would "further erode the bank's total equity capital of $448.6 million" reported in its latest Call Report and "could have an adverse effect" on its financial condition. Because of these uncertainties, Fremont's independent auditors have delayed the completion of their 2007 audit and Fremont has delayed filing its Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said. Fremont can be found online at http://www.fremontgeneral.com.