Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation Thursday as the collapse of Ueno Bank, a major digital lender, sparked demonstrations and a political crisis. Minutes later, the Chamber of Deputies voted 78-0 to advance impeachment charges against him, the Associated Press reported.
The November 5 developments followed a central bank intervention that disrupted access to accounts for a lender claiming approximately 3 million customers. Regulators are beginning deposit-guarantee payments, but the recovery of remaining customer balances and public funds is unresolved, according to the central bank’s notices and AP coverage.
Resignation Follows Impeachment Pressure
Peña announced his decision in a video statement, saying he wanted to preserve political stability and protect democratic institutions. He apologized to Paraguayans without admitting responsibility for Ueno’s collapse, AP reported.
The Chamber of Deputies had scheduled a November 5 extraordinary session after 35 lawmakers submitted separate impeachment accusations against Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana. Their claims included alleged conflicts of interest and questions about public funds tied to the bank; the accusations are not findings of guilt, according to the chamber’s notice and Reuters reporting.
The lower-house vote sends accusations against Peña toward the Senate, where a two-thirds vote would be required to convict under Paraguay’s constitutional procedure. Congress was also expected to address his resignation and the succession of Alliana, who would serve the remainder of the term through August 2028, AP reported. The outcome of those additional proceedings was not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this article.
How Ueno Bank Entered Resolution
The Central Bank of Paraguay announced November 3 that it had begun a formal resolution process for Ueno, after adjustments to the bank’s financial statements left its solvency ratio below half the legal minimum. The regulator described the problem as specific to Ueno, not a systemwide banking failure.
Ueno claimed to serve more than 60% of Paraguay’s adult population. Its closure interrupted access to savings, wages, and pension payments and prompted demonstrations in Asunción, AP reported. Its claimed customer total does not mean all 3 million permanently lost their deposits.
Peña had business ties to Grupo Vázquez, Ueno’s ownership group, until March 2025. Carlos Carvallo, who previously led Ueno’s predecessor, resigned as central bank president at Peña’s request, Reuters reported.
Investigations And Public Pension Exposure
Authorities detained eight bank executives and charged 27 people in connection with the collapse, per La Nacion. Charges and allegations do not establish guilt.
Ueno held approximately $800 million in public deposits, including money connected to Paraguay’s pension and health system, according to the Lost Angeles Times. The disposition of those funds remains an important question for the resolution process.
Deposit Guarantee Payments Begin
On November 5, Paraguay’s central bank announced the start of payments to an initial group of depositors with no more than 10 million guaraníes in Ueno deposits, no debt to the bank, and an account at another domestic financial institution. The central bank said people meeting those criteria would receive the full amount of their qualifying deposits.
An earlier notice outlined advances of up to 40 minimum monthly wages, less overdue debts owed to Ueno. The bank said an account would be opened at another institution for depositors who did not already have one.
A separate November 5 announcement said a lookup platform would allow customers to identify their assigned receiving bank. Under the central bank’s resolution notice, the statutory deposit guarantee is up to 228.3 million guaraníes per depositor per institution, rather than per account. Regulators have not promised complete recovery of balances above that limit.
This is a rapidly developing story. The Dallas Express will provide updates as additional information is confirmed.
