Paraguay’s banking crisis has left about 3 million ueno customers unable to reach their accounts and spurred opposition lawmakers to file impeachment articles against President Santiago Pena, Reuters reported.
The filing came Wednesday from 35 of the 80 members of Paraguay’s lower house, Reuters reported. Opposition lawmakers accuse Pena of conflicts of interest, pension-fund misuse and institutional cover-ups tied to ueno’s collapse.
Reuters said Pena held shares in Grupo Vazquez, which controls ueno, until March 2025. Reuters said Pena had not publicly addressed the impeachment effort. In a Wednesday social media post, Pena urged political leaders to put depositors first and said officials responsible for any irregularities would face justice “without exceptions.”
Paraguay’s central bank intervened after determining that ueno fell short of minimum solvency requirements, Reuters reported. The lender managed close to $850 million in public funds and grew from a niche fintech business into a mid-tier bank, Reuters reported. Eight executives turned themselves in after prosecutors issued arrest warrants Tuesday; courts subsequently froze their assets while the inquiry expanded, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that several other banking apps also experienced outages Wednesday. The Association of Banks of Paraguay (Asoban) said banks were managing an increase in customers moving accounts away from ueno and that the wider banking system remained functional.
Reuters said the crisis has challenged Paraguay’s standing as a stable destination for foreign investment, particularly from neighboring Brazil. The opposition lacks the two-thirds support required to move impeachment proceedings forward, although several members of the ruling Colorado Party back the effort, Reuters reported. Lawmakers asked congressional leaders to call a special session Thursday to debate Pena’s future, Reuters reported.
