Paraguayan President Pedro Alliana pledged to compensate customers affected by Ueno Bank’s collapse and ordered immediate steps to repay depositors. (Foto: Instagram)
Paraguay’s new president, Pedro Alliana, pledged on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, to fully compensate customers affected by the Ueno Bank crisis and ordered immediate steps to repay depositors. In his first address after taking office, he said those facing hardship because of the bank’s financial collapse would not be left on their own.
Alliana also called for a swift government response and said customers with fewer resources should receive priority. “I am ordering immediate action to repay depositors, giving preference to those who are least well off,” he said. He added that he wanted people who would act decisively in charge of the effort and expected results.
Alliana assumed the presidency after the Senate approved Santiago Peña’s impeachment on Friday. Hours after Peña’s removal, he was detained at home on prosecutors’ orders and placed under house arrest amid suspicions of irregularities involving Ueno Bank. Peña had been part of the bank’s shareholder group until March 2025. Alliana is expected to serve through August 2028, when the presidential term ends.
The Central Bank of Paraguay placed Ueno Bank under intervention on Nov. 3 after determining that its solvency ratio had fallen to less than half the legal minimum. The decline followed adjustments to the bank’s financial statements during a process to bring it into compliance. The digital bank had about 3 million customers in a country of roughly 7 million people. The intervention left some customers without immediate access to their accounts and deposits and prompted demonstrations in Asunción and other locations.
The central bank has begun returning funds through the Deposit Guarantee Fund. The first phase covers customers with deposits of up to 10 million guaraníes who owe no money to the bank and hold accounts at other financial institutions. Paraguayan law provides coverage of up to 228.3 million guaraníes per depositor, per institution.
The bank’s collapse also fueled the political crisis surrounding Peña. He resigned on Thursday, Nov. 5, while Congress was moving forward with impeachment; the Senate approved his removal the following day. Lawmakers accused Peña of a conflict of interest and interference in oversight of the bank. He had been a shareholder in Grupo Vázquez, which controls Ueno Bank, until March 2025. Questions were also raised about the concentration of public and pension funds at the institution. Peña denied wrongdoing and said the matter should be handled by judicial authorities.
Criminal investigations are also underway. Eight executives linked to Ueno Bank were detained as authorities investigate suspected financial irregularities and responsibility for the bank’s condition. The central bank said the resolution process is intended to protect depositors and preserve financial stability, and stressed that the episode was specific to Ueno Bank rather than a systemwide crisis in Paraguay’s banking sector.
