Whether Paraguay president Santiago Peña resigns following bank collapse, impeachment pressure mounts

Bank seizure sparks alarm

Paraguay’s central bank took control of Ueno Bank, whose customer base had grown to include more than 60% of the country’s adults. Regulators said they found poorly documented lending to companies linked to the bank’s owners, along with expenses wrongly counted as assets.

The bank’s app, cards and transfers stopped working, and branches closed. Depositors gathered outside seeking access to their savings; a rush to open accounts at other banks later disrupted their mobile apps.

Central bank inspectors had raised concerns earlier about loans to insiders, including lending beyond legal limits and without sufficient collateral. A report by ABC Color said nearly $39 million went to three related companies on one day in September 2025.

Peña faces impeachment pressure

After the seizure, Peña faced impeachment as protests clashed with riot police and Ueno executives were detained. By Thursday, both main factions of the ruling Colorado Party’s lower-house members had pledged to support an impeachment debate.

Peña had previously defended Ueno and the central bank’s oversight, describing concerns as a smear campaign. Central bank president Carlos Carvallo resigned at Peña’s request, and Pedro Acosta Bernal was appointed interim president.

Protests reflect wider anger

Hundreds of retirees, depositors, students and workers took to the streets of Asunción on Wednesday. On Thursday, Ueno employees and workers from other Grupo Vázquez companies protested outside the Labor Ministry, demanding severance and unpaid wages.

Some demonstrators described the collapse as evidence of corruption and political influence. Protester Luis Pineda accused Peña and the Colorado Party of taking people’s savings and said protesters were tired of decades of plunder.

The article says only Venezuela ranks worse in South America on Transparency International’s latest perceived-corruption index. Meanwhile, the bank’s logo had been removed from the national stadium that once carried Ueno’s name, while graffiti across the capital denounced politicians.