Even now, the ads on television, radio and the internet continue: "Is your credit bad? Don’t worry, we’ll provide the loan for the home of your dreams …" What those commercials should, but do not, add is: go through the small print with a toothcomb. Or else you, too, could be swept up in America’s subprime mortgage crisis.

Just as in Britain, homeownership is a traditional goal of American society. But as interest rates have climbed and the housing market has slumped, the number of what are politely called "delinquent" loans has soared. And as home repossessions grow, civil rights groups and presidential contenders alike are stepping into the row over the high risk, or subprime, mortgage market.

In the most sweeping call yet, a coalition of civil rights organisations have demanded a six-month moratorium on foreclosures. They want lenders - whose reckless and sometimes predatory policies are largely blamed for the crisis - to help victims refinance their mortgages, or face law suits.

"We know that there are safe and affordable loans that meet the needs of our communities," said Janet Murguia, the president of the National Council of La Raza, the biggest Hispanic civil rights group in the US, noting that minority groups were especially hard hit by the crisis. Lenders should "match families to the sustainable loans that they should have had in the first place", she added.

The subprime crisis has erupted over the past few months as borrowing rates have turned upwards while house prices have fallen steeply in many parts of the country. All sectors of the mortgage market have been affected but none more so than subprime loans, extended to borrowers with shaky credit histories.

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