Grant Thornton LLP has quit as auditor for Fremont General Corp., citing resistance from the industrial bank to providing information for an expanded audit in the wake of the company’s problems in the subprime lending market.

Fremont said in a statement late Monday that it had cooperated fully with auditors. “At no time did the company either fail to provide to Grant Thornton any requested information on a timely basis or communicate to Grant Thornton that it was opposed to any additional procedures or testing or to Grant Thornton’s request to expand the audit scope,” the company said.

But a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Grant Thornton noted that “during the course of the audit there were instances where the company did not provide certain requested information to Grant Thornton on dates previously agreed upon with management.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last month ordered the company’s Fremont Investment & Loan subsidiary to stop underwriting subprime mortgages. The company has since been seeking a buyer for the subprime unit.

The audit firm said it would not be able to attest to the completeness and validity of the Santa Monica-based industrial bank’s financial statements or internal controls over financial reporting, and thus could not render an auditor’s opinion based on its findings as required the federal Sarbanes Oxley Act.

Fremont had hired Grant Thornton in August 2006 to pick up where previous auditor Ernst & Young LLP left off. Fremont said that its audit committee will start looking for another auditing firm.

Fremont General shares fell 62 cents, or 10 percent, to $5.90 in aftermarket trading Monday. During regular trading hours on the New York Stock Exchange, the shares fell 41 cents to $6.52.