Debt Talk CIC has published its first report entitled ‘Breaking Point to Breaking Through’. It reveals a ‘hidden debt crisis’ affecting Bangladeshi Londoners, based on community consultations with over 45 residents, frontline workers and statutory organisations in Tower Hamlets.
It says that, despite 63% of Bangladeshi Londoners living in poverty, there is no dedicated, culturally responsive debt advice service for this community. The report highlights how shame and honour (izzat), faith-based barriers to interest, informal lending, remittance pressures and intergenerational trauma combine to push families into crisis before they seek help.
Participants were clear: mainstream debt services are not working and generic advice, interest-based solutions, digital-only access and short-term funding models exclude Bangladeshi lived realities.
Debt Talk CIC, the UK’s first Bangladeshi-led debt advice and financial education service, outlines community-designed solutions, including Bengali-speaking advisors, trauma-informed and faith-aware support, Shariah-compliant credit pathways, holistic debt and wellbeing support, and outreach in trusted community spaces. It says:
“This report makes one thing clear: Bangladeshi poverty is specific, structural and solvable — and the time to act is now.”