Countrywide, America’s biggest mortgage lender, has buckled under pressure from Washington and begun to offer refinancing options to borrowers having trouble meeting their repayments.

The move to help borrowers with $16 billion (£7.8 billion) of outstanding home loans represents a victory for the Government, which had urged lenders to help to prevent property owners from losing their homes.

Countrywide has sold mortgages to people with low wages with poor credit histories. Many such loans had a tempting introductory interest rate, but over the past few months that rate has jumped, triggering a surge in defaults. Yesterday the lender said that it had started to contact borrowers who had fallen into arrears and had offered modifications to the terms of their loans. It was also talking to borrowers whose adjustable rate had increased or would rise by the end of next year.

Borrowers had hoped that by the time the cost of borrowing rose, their property would have risen in value enough to remortgage at a manageable level. Instead, the property market has sunk into its worst recession for 16 years. David Sambol, Countrywide’s chief operating officer, said yesterday: “Unprecedented times call for unprecedented remedies. We are determined to assist borrowers who have the willingness and wherewithal to remain in their homes but need a little help to do it.”

He said that the company would refinance about $10 billion in loans and modify another $4 billion. The lender also plans to contact borrowers of $2.2 billion who are late on their loan repayments. The proposal could provide 82,000 Countrywide borrowers with some kind of relief.

The rescue plan came as it emerged that the number of Americans filing for bankruptcy had soared 23 per cent last month, with homeowners fighting to prevent their homes from repossession. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, about 69,000 people applied for one of two types of bankruptcy, which protects homeowners from being evicted from their homes if they can present a feasible plan to keep on top of their debt repayments and have a regular income.

The institute, a nonprofit research group whose members include bankruptcy lawyers, judges and lenders, said that more homeowners had applied for bankruptcy in states where the property slump was more severe.

The figures reveal the impact of the housing recession in America, where homes in some states have slumped in value by as much as 40 per cent. They also raise pressure on the US Federal Reserve bank to cut rates again when it meets next week.

In September, the Fed reduced the cost of borrowing by half of 1 per cent to avert a deepening credit crisis in the US. It is expected that Ben Bernanke, th Federal Reserve Chairman, will cut rates again before Christmas.

Over a nine-month period, the number of personal bankruptcies rose almost 45 per cent compared with the same period last year. Traditionally, most borrowers who filed for bankruptcy did so under under Chapter 7 of the federal Bankruptcy Code. Under that provision, debtors have to give up certain assets, often a chunk of equity in their homes, which are sold to pay off borrowings. Typically, while the measure stops the foreclosure process, it merely buys borrowers time and most lose their home anyway.

According to the institute, an increasing number of Americans are opting for bankruptcy under Chapter 13, where a homeowner is often given three to five years to stick to an agreed repayment plan and keep their home. Court papers in Washington show the number of personal bankruptcies filed under Chapter 13 doubled in California during the second quarter of the year. They rose by 40 per cent in Illinois and 70 per cent in Massachusetts.

There are concerns that the blight affecting American property may reach Britain. The International Monetary Fund has said that homes in the UK are overpriced by 40 per cent.

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