U.S. subpoenas documents from 15 lenders

Government officials have subpoenaed documents from 15 lenders whose Federal Housing Administration-backed loans have high default rates, including a failed Missouri bank that was owned by an Orange County financial firm.

Many of the FHA-backed loans issued by the lenders went bad almost immediately, said Kenneth M. Donohue, inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes the FHA. At a news conference Tuesday, he called the action a review that was not yet an investigation.

“We aren’t making any accusations at this time; we have no evidence of wrongdoing, but we will aggressively pursue indicators of fraud,” Donohue said in a news release.

The lenders were based in 11 states, but none were in California. One of them was American Sterling Bank of Sugar Creek, Mo., which was a subsidiary of Foothill Ranch-based America Sterling Corp. before the unit failed April 17.

Metcalf Bank of Lee’s Summit, Mo., took over all $172 million of American Sterling’s deposits and nearly all its $181 million in loans and other assets under an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That deal stipulates that the FDIC will share losses on $100 million in American Sterling loans.

Representatives of Metcalf Bank and American Sterling Corp. couldn’t be reached for comment. An FDIC spokesman declined to comment.

The FHA, which insures mortgages that have low down payments, has become more important to the housing markets since subprime lending collapsed and all home loans became harder to get. The agency is funded through fees paid by homeowners paying down their FHA-backed loans -- a flow of money that has been threatened by rising foreclosures.

FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens said the review “will help us determine whether there is fraud and better manage risk in the long run.”

scott.reckard@latimes.com