Shares in Fremont General Corp. were down 10 percent Friday morning after the lender said it has been ordered by federal regulators to raise capital or find a buyer.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. told the Brea-based company on March 26 that it was undercapitalized and mandated that management take “prompt corrective action” within 60 days, according to statement released by Fremont.

The FDIC said that Fremont’s bank, Fremont Investment & Loan, could not make any further capital distributions to its parent company or give raises or bonuses to company officers or directors.

This comes about a year after the federal agency prevented the company from making subprime loans because the bank had not ensured borrowers could actually repay their loans.

Fremont now operates 22 retail banks in California.

Fremont said in separate releases earlier this month that it had received default notices from two investors who purchased $3.15 billion in home loans in March of last year and that it was exploring alternatives that may include a sale or merger but gave no specifics.

The bank company also replaced five directors earlier this year as part of a continued management overhaul.

Fremont was based in Santa Monica but moved to Brea in January.

Shares in Fremont were down nearly 10 percent to 55 cents per share in early trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares have lost 85 percent so far this year.