IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Martin Lewis charity brings together five major banks to help tackle suicide
10 September 2026
This World Suicide Prevention Day, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute – the charity founded and chaired by Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert – see quote from him below) – has launched a ground-breaking project to help banks transform support for customers at risk of suicide.
The charity’s new Suicide Prevention Action Lab will bring together five major banks, working with tens of millions of customers across the UK. Supported by Money and Mental Health, the banks will collaborate, share insights and learn from one another, and explore new approaches to preventing suicide. The aim is to identify what works and to drive a step change in support across the sector.
Money and Mental Health’s research shows that financial difficulty can be a key contributory factor to people becoming suicidal:
- Over 420,000 people in problem debt consider taking their own life in England each year, and more than 100,000 people in debt actually attempt suicide (1)
- People in problem debt are three times more likely to have considered suicide than people who are not in problem debt (2).
When people are really struggling, it can be hard to tell anyone or ask for help, making it all the more important that those who can spot the warning signs step in to offer support. Banks have a critical opportunity because of the unique insight they have into people’s finances. For example, banks can spot and intervene when customers may be experiencing debt problems or income drops which can contribute to suicidal thoughts and feelings.
The Suicide Prevention Action Lab will help banks act on that opportunity. It will see five major firms (Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds, Monzo and Nationwide) come together to develop and test new ideas, drawing on insights from people with lived experience of suicidality and from Money and Mental Health’s research, as well as from a steering group including the Financial Conduct Authority.
Money and Mental Health will publish the outcomes of these pilots in summer 2028, sharing what works so that all banks can learn from the programme – with the aim of leading a step-change in support for people at risk of suicide, and ultimately saving lives.
The idea of the Action Lab originated in a joint roundtable event in February 2026 held jointly by Money and Mental Health, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Treasury. It brought together financial services firms to consider opportunities for the sector to contribute to suicide prevention efforts.
The Action Lab is funded by the five participating firms. It follows on from Money and Mental Health’s Gambling Harms Action Lab, through which the charity has been working directly with financial services firms to improve support for customers at risk of gambling related harm.
Martin Lewis, Chair of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said:
“The stark fact is over 400,000 in England alone consider taking their own life due to financial problems each year, and 100,000 attempt it. The link between mental health difficulties and debt is a marriage made in hell – they feed off and cause each other. Long term money worries grind people down, and aggressive debt collection practices can leave them feeling completely hopeless.
“Banks didn’t cause all these problems, but they are in a unique central position in people’s financial lives, and we want to see if it’s possible to take advantage of that to be able to spot when customers are in trouble and urgently direct them to the right support. So I’m delighted and thankful so many major banks have committed to working with Money and Mental Health on our new Suicide Prevention Action Lab.
“The fact it’s a Lab is important, there’s a lot to learn here to maximise how and when to safely and considerately use the data, when and how to intervene. We aim to get under the bonnet with banks to find the gaps, test new ways to identify and support people in crisis, and drive change not just with those who’ve signed up but right across the sector – and potentially save lives.”
Lucy Rigby MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“Financial worries and mental health challenges too often go hand in hand. I have seen firsthand how the industry can make a real difference to people’s lives through concerted action and I am very hopeful that this excellent project will help us find new ways to support people before they reach crisis point.”
Alison McGovern, Minister of State for Mental Health, said:
“Every suicide is heartbreaking, and this Government is determined to reduce the number of lives lost because people cannot get the help they need.
“It’s clear that financial difficulties are a major contributing factor in people reaching a point of crisis in their mental health. Banks are in a unique position to spot the warning signs earlier, and it’s fantastic to see this initiative from Money and Mental Health, who are helping them to identify those at risk and provide earlier support.
“The Suicide Prevention Action Lab has the potential to make a real difference in identifying and supporting vulnerable people who are at risk of suicide, and save many lives over the coming years.”
ENDS
Contact:
For all media enquiries, please contact:
- Brian Semple, Head of External Affairs at Money and Mental Health, on 07935 216804 or [email protected]
- Alex Goodfellow, External Affairs Officer at Money and Mental Health, on [email protected]
Notes to Editors
- This stat is from Money and Mental Health’s 2018 report A silent killer: Breaking the link between financial difficulty and suicide
- Money and Mental Health analysis of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24
About the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute is an independent charity set up by Martin Lewis, and committed to breaking the link between financial difficulty and mental health problems. We conduct research, develop practical policy solutions and work in partnership with both those providing services and those using them to find what really works. www.moneyandmentalhealth.org.