Dhaka, Oct. 13 -- Loan repayments are eating deeper into the incomes of rural Bangladesh's poorest families, squeezing household finances, a Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) study has found.

The study found that NGOs and microfinance institutions account for three out of every four rural loans. The share of rural households taking loans rose from 36 percent to 42 percent.

The proportion of borrowers spending more than 40 percent of monthly income on instalments increased from 22 percent to 41 percent. Among the poorest 20 percent of households, the figure rose from 49 percent to 79 percent.

The findings were presented on Monday at a workshop in Dhaka. BIDS researcher Kazi Iqbal conducted the study, drawing mainly on d...