Ueno Bank Collapse Forces Peña’s Exit and Triggers Limited Payouts

Overview

• On Tuesday the Banco Central do Paraguai intervened and ordered liquidation of Ueno Bank after inspections found its solvency ratio had plunged well below the 12% minimum and customer access to accounts was blocked for roughly three million clients.
• Regulators uncovered extensive related‑party loans and accounting irregularities that left the bank deeply undercapitalized, with prosecutors issuing preventive detention orders for eight current or former executives.
• President Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday after losing political backing for his previous ties to Ueno’s holding, but Congress refused to accept the resignation and advanced an impeachment process that Peña says he will face in the Senate.
• The central bank and lawmakers moved to speed reimbursements: a new law allows early use of the deposit‑guarantee fund and the BCP set priority payments for depositors with balances up to 10 million guaraníes who hold accounts at other banks, with a 15‑day target to begin disbursements.
• Large uncertainties remain over coverage of deposits above guarantee limits — including roughly US$850 million of state and pension funds — raising fiscal risk and short‑term pain for households, small businesses and an estimated 270,000 Brazilians living in Paraguay who have already reported frozen funds.