• Analysis
Paraguay President Resigns as Ueno Bank Crisis Freezes Millions in Deposits
President Santiago Peña stepped down on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as the paraguay bank crisis around Ueno Bank deepened - a lender claiming 60% of Paraguay's adults as customers and holding the frozen deposits of 3 million people.
From 1970s finance house to national digital bank
The institution at the centre of the turmoil began modestly. Ueno Bank traces its origins to a finance company founded in the 1970s, and in 2021 it was bought by Grupo Vázquez. The purchase set in motion its transformation into one of the country's most visible lenders.
At the end of 2023, under Peña's administration, the central bank authorised Ueno to operate as a digital bank. Growth followed quickly. The bank claimed to have about 60% of Paraguay's adult population as customers, and it drew people in with:
- •generous cash-back offers on groceries
- •sponsorship of Paraguay's national football team
The freeze that left families without money
Last Monday, the central bank ordered Ueno into resolution over insolvency, freezing the deposits of 3 million customers. The decision cut hundreds of thousands of families off from money for food and basic expenses.
The aftermath escalated fast. Bank executives were arrested, and people took to the streets in massive protests. On Wednesday, the national team's players released a letter demanding a forceful response from the government and the justice system.
Public money and conflict-of-interest claims
The bank's client list extended well beyond households. Ueno came to manage between $800m and $850m in deposits from state and pension entities, which drew conflict-of-interest criticism over Peña's ties to Ueno Holding.
Peña had been a shareholder until early last year and reportedly ignored warnings from the central bank and the media about the bank's operations. He described his shareholding as an "investment" and said he had already disposed of all his shares. He dismissed the favouritism claims as a "false media campaign" aimed at weakening his government.
Opposition senator Rafael Filizzola saw it differently. He told 1020 AM radio:
This is a bank created from political power, to use public money for private businesses linked to political power
Filizzola also called the case "the biggest fraud carried out from political power in the democratic era".
What happens after the resignation
On Wednesday, opposition lawmakers joined by members of Peña's own Colorado party filed an impeachment motion holding him responsible for the collapse. On Thursday morning, his former ally, ex-president Horacio Cartes, posted a message endorsing the impeachment, writing: "We support the impeachment of the president of the republic, Santiago Peña, in order to restore the institutional order".
Peña announced his resignation in a video, saying the republic must always come before any person, that he acted thinking of the country's stability, social peace and the need to preserve democratic institutions, and that his greatest wish was that depositors' funds be guaranteed a return. About an hour after the announcement, the lower house unanimously approved the impeachment motion, which now goes to the senate.
If the senate approves it after his resignation, Peña would lose his senate seat and, with it, parliamentary immunity, and would face criminal proceedings in ordinary courts. Vice-President Pedro Alliana automatically assumes the presidency to complete the constitutional term until August 2028. Peña, a 47-year-old economist in power since August 2023, leaves office with the 3 million frozen deposits of the Ueno bank crisis still unresolved.
