Paraguay Takes Over Major Digital Bank With Alleged Ties to President Peña
Should Peña resign for letting an insider bank feast on pensions or would impeachment fever just manufacture instability?
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Above: Santiago Peña during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York on Sept. 25. Image credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Facts
- Paraguay's central bank announced the takeover of major digital bank Ueno on Tuesday, following a unanimous decision of its board to place the lender into a so-called resolution process after its solvency ratio fell below minimum requirements. Deposits are guaranteed up to the equivalent of $38,000 per person.
- Ueno claimed to have about 3 million clients, roughly two out of three adult Paraguayans, and managed more than $800 million in public money, including pensions. The lender was granted a banking license in 2023, shortly after President Santiago Peña appointed its former head Carlos Carvallo to run the central bank.
- Carvallo said in a press conference on Tuesday that he will step down after the resolution proceedings are completed. He argued that while the process needs his participation, his resignation will avoid political and media interference in the institution.
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The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Paraguayan retirees' pension savings were gambled on Ueno Bank, a lender close to the president, while the central bank looked away. Peña and his allies betrayed the public trust, and they must answer for it. Accountability cannot wait any longer — impeachment proceedings must start as soon as possible.
Pro-government narrative
Reaching for impeachment every time a crisis hits Paraguay would freeze the country and scare off the investment that working families depend on. It's up to the court to sort out who actually broke the rules before reputations are destroyed. The nation can't absorb more manufactured instability.
