Politics1 min read

How Paraguay’s Ueno collapse is only its latest banking crisis

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Central bank regulators intervened after discovering Ueno Bank's solvency ratio had collapsed to less than half the legal threshold due to risky insider loans. The fallout has locked nearly 3 million depositors out of their savings and wages, prompting demonstrations outside Congress over $800 million in invested public funds. Lawmakers initiated rapid impeachment proceedings against Santiago Pena, who had previously owned a financial stake in the bank's parent company, Grupo Vazquez. Pena requested a 72-hour extension to review a 300-page accusatory document before the Senate considers his removal.

Key points

  • Santiago Pena faces removal by the Senate despite offering his resignation during the nat…: Santiago Pena faces removal by the Senate despite offering his resignation during the nation's worst political crisis in over a decade.
  • Central bank chief Carlos Carvallo resigned amid scrutiny over his past leadership of the…: Central bank chief Carlos Carvallo resigned amid scrutiny over his past leadership of the failed lender's predecessor firm.
  • The president maintains he engaged in no improper dealings despite holding a stake in Gru…: The president maintains he engaged in no improper dealings despite holding a stake in Grupo Vazquez until March 2025.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

President Santiago Pena is under fire over links to parent company of collapsed bank.

Paraguay’s president impeached amid bank collapse crisis

Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena is facing impeachment following the collapse of Ueno Bank, a major digital bank, which has plunged the South American country into its deepest political crisis in more than a decade.

Pena announced his resignation on Thursday, but politicians formally filed impeachment charges against the president. Pena, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist, then requested a 72-hour extension to present his defence at an impeachment hearing, because he had been given less than 12 hours to answer “an accusatory writ and about 300 pages of attachments”, adding: “That is not due process.”

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list of 1 itemend of listHowever, the Senate convened a rare session on Friday to consider Pena’s political future, opting to move forward with efforts to remove him from office.

Until March 2025, Pena held a stake in Grupo Vazquez, the parent company that owns Ueno Bank.

What is Ueno Bank?

Ueno Bank was established in 1976 and remained a small…

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