Santiago Peña Impeached After Ueno Bank Collapse
Paraguay’s Senate impeached President Santiago Peña and placed him under house arrest after Ueno Bank’s collapse left nearly three million customers unable to access their savings. The crisis also put public funds at risk, while Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as Peña’s successor.
Paraguay’s Senate impeached President Santiago Peña and placed him under house arrest on November 7, after the collapse of Ueno Bank left nearly three million customers unable to access their savings.
The crisis has put hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds at risk and forced Peña to announce his resignation. Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as his successor.
Peña, a former economist with the International Monetary Fund, was detained minutes after lawmakers impeached him on grounds of misconduct in office, according to the account of events.
Ueno Bank, a digital lender controlled by business conglomerate Grupo Vazquez, was placed under the control of Paraguay’s central bank on November 3. Regulators found that the bank’s financial position had deteriorated, triggering the intervention.
The bank had around three million customers in a country of 6.5 million people. Its failure disrupted account access and payments, while protests and criminal investigations followed.
Authorities began transferring deposits and recoverable assets to other banks before liquidating the remaining institution. The bank’s collapse has also drawn scrutiny to its lending and the handling of public funds.
Peña previously held a stake in Grupo Vazquez. Allegations that he used political influence to help the bank expand prompted investigations and impeachment proceedings; those allegations are not a finding of guilt.
Peña announced his resignation on November 5, saying he wanted to preserve Paraguay’s stability and democratic institutions. Lawmakers did not accept his departure and proceeded with the impeachment.
Ueno grew rapidly after Grupo Vazquez acquired Financiera El Comercio in 2021 and turned it into Financiera Ueno. The bank launched its digital brand in February 2022 and acquired and merged with Vision Banco in 2024.
The crisis has affected pension funds as well as individual customers. The state pension and healthcare fund had approximately $380 million in deposits and investments with Ueno, and around 32,000 retirees receiving payments through the bank were affected.
Paraguay’s central bank began the intervention after finding weaknesses in the bank’s financial position, including problems involving capital adequacy and lending quality. Investigators also identified poorly documented transactions and loans to companies linked to Grupo Vazquez.
When regulators corrected Ueno’s accounts, its capital fell to less than half the legally required minimum, according to the central bank. The intervention has left customers unable to access savings or make payments.
