Paraguay central bank and its head face calls to resign over ueno bank oversight
Senators from both the ruling Colorado Party and the opposition have urged President Santiago Peña to dismiss the central bank’s leadership after scrutiny of the digital lender ueno, which has political connections.
Paraguay’s central bank and its president, Carlos Carvallo, are under mounting pressure after a Senate report highlighted supervisory gaps at ueno, a digital bank with ties to former central-bank officials. Senators Gustavo Leite and Rafael Filizzola have publicly called for the removal of the bank’s top officials, arguing that credibility has been damaged. The report, submitted this month, aimed to clarify loans to related companies but instead intensified scrutiny from lawmakers, the Banking Association and market observers. ueno, which grew from a niche fintech to a mid-size bank with about 3 million customers and roughly $800-$850 million in public funds, faced a bond sell-off and a downgrade of its securities outlook by Fitch.
President Santiago Peña, a former business partner of the bank’s owners, dismissed the controversy as a technical issue politicized to the detriment of Paraguay’s image. The episode tests the reputation that helped Paraguay achieve investment-grade credit ratings and could affect foreign-capital inflows.
Why it matters
The dispute threatens confidence in Paraguay’s financial oversight and could jeopardize its investment-grade credit status.
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