The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has charged...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has charged former White House budget director Bert Lance and a Calhoun company with defaulting on loan payments to a now-defunct Tennessee bank. The U.S. District Court suit seeks $1.5 million from Lance and the Kris Co. It alleges that Lance and the company defaulted on payments to the United American Bank of Knoxville for four separate loans and renewal agreements dating to late 1981. The suit, filed in Rome, Ga., was made public Thursday after U.S. District Judge Harold L. Murphy denied a request by the government’s lawyers to keep it secret for 20 days. Lance said he had not seen a copy of the suit. Lance declined to talk about the Kris Co, saying it was a “personal company.”