Paraguay seizes Ueno Bank tied to President Peña, impeachment filed
The gist
Paraguay's central bank seized Ueno Bank, locking out about 3 million customers and exposing up to $850 million in public funds.
Lawmakers filed impeachment charges against President Santiago Peña and his vice president.
How it unfolded
- 2023Santiago Peña took office and soon after appointed Ueno's then chief, Carlos Carvallo, to lead the central bank, a move critics denounced as a conflict of interest.
- Mar 2025Peña remained a business partner of Grupo Vázquez, the conglomerate that owns Ueno, until March 2025.
- Nov 2, 2026The Central Bank of Paraguay's board voted unanimously to put Ueno Bank into resolution after its solvency ratio fell below half the legal minimum. Peña canceled a planned trip to a summit in Spain, and Vice President Pedro Alliana put his bid for the Colorado Party's 2028 nomination on hold, citing the "financial crisis."