Ueno Bank collapse left millions in limbo and toppled Paraguay president Santiago Peña
Customers struggle to access money
Ueno Bank’s services stopped working in the early hours of Tuesday, disrupting transactions for people who relied on the bank for daily needs. In downtown Asunción, café worker Elizabeth González said customers had lost confidence in banks, and one person insisted on paying in cash.
The reported customer totals differed: Ueno said it had 2.9 million customers, around 60% of Paraguay’s adult population, while the Central Bank cited approximately 1.8 million depositors. By Saturday, authorities said almost 1.2 million customers had received advance payments through the state deposit guarantee fund, while many others were still waiting.
Protests spread beyond Congress
Hundreds gathered outside Congress on Friday to protest both their inability to reach their money and what they viewed as a failure of accountability. Elodia Saveredo, a 71-year-old craft seller, said she joined because the crisis affected the country as a whole.
Student leader Batarram Caballero said some classmates had money frozen that they needed for bus fare and food. The collapse also led to the Senate impeaching and removing President Santiago Peña, a close ally of President Donald Trump, and brought a power struggle inside the ruling Colorado Party into view.
Questions over bank’s growth
Ueno began as a fintech in 2021 and started operating as a bank in November 2023. Its digital accounts, marketing and cashback offers helped it grow quickly, while customers were encouraged to make payments through the platform.
The bank held substantial public funds: Paraguay’s Social Security Institute had about $355 million invested there, roughly 9% of its portfolio. Economist and former finance minister Manuel Ferreira questioned how the bank managed its assets, noting that loans are a bank’s principal asset and that many Ueno loans went to companies linked to its controlling owners, Grupo Vásquez. The article reports $146 million in loans to those companies before its account cuts off.
Key points
- Ueno Bank’s shutdown disrupted daily transactions and left many customers waiting to access their funds.
- Ueno reported 2.9 million customers; the Central Bank cited about 1.8 million depositors.
- Almost 1.2 million customers had received advance payments by Saturday, authorities said.
- The Senate impeached and removed Santiago Peña amid allegations linked to the bank’s collapse.