A Carlyle Group mortgage hedge fund struck by an avalanche of margin calls is pleading with its lenders to stop liquidating its collateral.

The fund, Carlyle Capital, said today it has “requested a standstill agreement whereby its lenders would refrain from foreclosing and liquidating their collateral.” It is waiting to hear back from those lenders, which last week began liquidating some $16 billion in collateral after the fund defaulted on some $37 million in margin calls.

Carlyle Capital, which invests primarily in triple-A-rated agency securities, has been hit by $400 million in margin calls by lenders made anxious by the continuing credit crisis. Its parent is helping it meet with lenders to discuss ways in which it can repay its debt without having its collateral liquidated. The Carlyle Group has already extended the fund some $250 million in credit and loan facilities.

Carlyle Capital is “evaluating all available options to maximize value for all interested parties,” it said of its existential crisis. If it is unable to work out a new deal with its lenders, the fund, which owns about $20 million in agency bonds, may have to close.