Paraguay Ueno Bank Scandal Timeline, 2021 to 2026
PARAGUAY · UENO BANK TIMELINE
Published Saturday, 7 November 2026 · Source: Paraguayan Senate, Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Public Prosecutor’s Office and court records, company filings
Paraguay’s Ueno Bank grew from a finance company bought in 2021 into a lender with about 2.9 million customers, and on Monday 2 November 2026 the central bank found it below half its legal capital minimum. Four days later, on Friday 6 November, the Senate removed President Santiago Peña, who had led the country since August 2023.
This timeline lists every dated step in the Ueno Bank case and marks each one as confirmed or contested. Ueno is a Paraguayan digital bank, the central bank is the Banco Central del Paraguay (BCP), and every suspect named here is presumed innocent until a court rules.
Key Facts
- Origin Grupo Vázquez, a Paraguayan business group, took control of the finance company behind Ueno in 2021.
- Turning point On Monday 2 November 2026 the BCP found Ueno’s capital (its solvency) below half the legal minimum.
- Charges Prosecutors charged 27 people on 4 November; a judge ordered six Ueno executives held; none is convicted.
- Politics The Senate removed President Santiago Peña on Friday 6 November; Vice President Pedro Alliana took over and serves until August 2028.
- Disputed The exact solvency ratio, the size of a loan transfer to a related company, Peña’s custody status and the vote tally.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a prediction exchange, puts President Alliana’s next-election odds at 11.5% (7 November, 7:32 a.m. ET).
- Power Index Paraguay ranks 10th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 35.0 points (November 2026 edition).
Since 2021 Ueno went from a small lender to a national bank, and within a week in November 2026 the crisis around it ended with the removal of Paraguay’s president.
Part of the dossier: Paraguay Ueno Bank crisis hub · The Ueno Bank case explained · Depositor guide · Why the regulator stepped in · Key figures in US$ · Who owns Ueno
How Did a Small Lender Become Paraguay’s Fifth-Largest Bank?
Grupo Vázquez, the group led by Miguel Vázquez, Ueno’s founder, took control of a small finance company in 2021 and rebuilt it as Ueno. The BCP approved its transformation into a bank on 22 November 2023, and it began operating as a bank on 1 December 2023.
On 28 June 2024 Ueno absorbed Visión Banco, another Paraguayan bank, which made it far larger. At the end of 2025 it was the fifth-largest private bank by deposits, with 8.9% of system deposits and 5.9% of loans, according to FIX, a credit-rating agency.
In March 2026 Ueno sold US$350 million of bonds due in 2031 with a 6.7% coupon, priced on 3 March. The sale brought money from international investors, and what happens to those bonds is now an open question.
Ueno had about 2.9 million customers when the BCP acted. Against the 6.46 million residents projected for 2026 by the National Statistics Institute (INE), that is roughly 45%, although customers are not necessarily different people and United Nations estimates put the population nearer 7.1 million.
In Plain English
- Resolution: a regulator takes control of a failing bank to protect savers.
- Interventors: officials the BCP appoints to inspect a bank’s books.
- Deposit guarantee fund: a state-run pool that repays savers up to a limit.
- Impeachment: a trial in Congress that can remove a president.
The Full Dated Timeline, 2021 to 7 November 2026
Each row names the primary source it rests on and says whether the point is confirmed or contested. Guaraní (Gs) amounts use Gs 5,976 per US$, a market close on Friday 6 November 2026, so official BCP rates differ slightly.
| Date | What happened | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Grupo Vázquez takes control of the finance company that becomes Ueno. | Company announcements | Confirmed |
| Jul 2023 | Carlos Carvallo, later BCP president, reportedly leaves Ueno’s chair. | Press reports, no filing found | Contested |
| Aug 2023 | Peña and Alliana begin the 2023 to 2028 presidential term. | Paraguayan Senate | Confirmed |
| Nov to Dec 2023 | Ueno becomes a bank: its audited statements give BCP approval on 22 November and a start on 1 December, while one rating report puts the licence at the end of December. | Ueno statements, rating report | Contested |
| 28 Jun 2024 | Ueno absorbs Visión Banco. | Ueno announcement | Confirmed |
| Mar to Apr 2025 | Ueno Holding, the parent company, cancels shares in a capital reduction reportedly including Peña’s; reports say 22 March or April, and Peña says he sold at the end of March. | Press reports, Peña statement | Contested |
| 3 to 6 Mar 2026 | Ueno prices US$350 million of 2031 bonds at a 6.7% coupon; settlement Friday 6 March. | Deal announcements | Confirmed |
| Jun 2026 | Vinanzas SA, a company linked to Ueno’s owners, buys a Ueno loan portfolio; reports give sizes from about US$41 million to US$74.4 million, and regulators reportedly suspect Ueno financed the purchase. | Superintendency findings as reported | Contested |
| Sep 2026 | The Senate questions the BCP about Ueno loans (reports give 9, 14 or 24 September). | Senate request as reported | Contested |
| Late Oct 2026 | Ueno announces a US$100 million capital plan; arrival of the money is not confirmed. | Ueno announcement | Confirmed |
| Mon 2 Nov | BCP board finds Ueno’s solvency below 50% of the required minimum. | BCP communiqué | Confirmed |
| Tue 3 Nov | BCP announces the resolution procedure under the 2003 deposit-guarantee and resolution law (Law 2,334/03); the Superintendency of Banks, the BCP’s supervisor, takes control and appoints interventors, officials who inspect the books. | BCP communiqué | Confirmed |
| 3 to 4 Nov | Carvallo resigns as BCP president; reports differ on the date and on whether he left of his own accord. | Resignation as reported | Contested |
| Wed 4 Nov | Prosecutors charge 27 people: eight Ueno executives and 19 tied to linked companies. | Public Prosecutor’s Office | Confirmed |
| Wed 4 Nov | The Senate gives final approval to a law letting the guarantee fund advance up to 40 minimum wages (about Gs 121.76 million, US$20,400) per depositor within 24 hours, with payments due within five business days of the law taking effect. | Senate press release | Confirmed |
| Wed 4 Nov | Peña nominates Raúl Vera Bogado as BCP head; the Senate must approve him and no vote is reported. | Presidency nomination as reported | Confirmed |
| Thu 5 Nov | A judge orders pretrial detention for Vázquez and five other executives, and house arrest with ankle monitors for two more. | Court order as reported | Confirmed |
| 5 to 6 Nov | First payouts to savers of up to Gs 10 million (about US$1,670) begin; reports give 5 or 6 November. | BCP notices as reported | Contested |
| Thu 5 Nov | Peña announces he will resign; Congress does not accept it and the Senate trial begins. | Congress proceedings as reported | Confirmed |
| Fri 6 Nov | The Senate finds Peña guilty of poor performance in office and removes him; the vote was nominal and unanimous among senators present. | Senate press release | Confirmed |
| Fri 6 Nov | Exact tally: reports give 44 to 0 or 44 of 45 senators. | Press reports | Contested |
| Fri 6 Nov | Alliana is sworn in to finish the term, which ends in August 2028; Congress elects Antonio Barrios vice president. | Senate press release | Confirmed |
| Fri 6 Nov | Prosecutors order Peña held over suspected breach of trust; reports differ between house arrest and detention at the presidential escort regiment. | Prosecutors as reported | Contested |
| Fri 6 Nov | Carvallo surrenders to police after a warrant that named him. | Prosecutors as reported | Confirmed |
| Sat 7 Nov | Peña is due to give a statement to prosecutors; reports differ on whether a judge’s hearing follows. | Prosecutors as reported | Contested |
What Happened in the Week That Toppled a President?
On Monday 2 November the BCP board found that Ueno’s solvency index, a measure of capital against risk, was below 50% of the required minimum, and on Tuesday 3 November it announced the resolution procedure. The BCP blamed adjustments made to Ueno’s financial statements during a regularisation process, and it called this a single case, not a condition of the whole financial system.
Prosecutors charged 27 people on Wednesday 4 November, and a judge then ordered pretrial detention for Vázquez and five other executives. The Senate gave the guarantee law final approval the same day, and the first payouts to savers, up to Gs 10 million (about US$1,670), began on 5 or 6 November.
Peña said on Thursday 5 November that he would resign, but Congress did not accept the resignation and the Senate trial went ahead. On Friday 6 November senators found him guilty of poor performance in office, and Pedro Alliana, his vice president, was sworn in the same day.
Prosecutors ordered Peña held over suspected breach of trust, and reports differ on whether he is confined at home or held at the presidential escort regiment, a military guard unit, while Carvallo surrendered to police that night. Peña denies wrongdoing, and our reports on the Senate vote, the central bank probe and Carvallo’s surrender give the detail.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a prediction-market exchange, lists a market on who will win Paraguay’s next presidential election, with about US$12,000 traded. At 7:32 a.m. ET on 7 November it priced Pedro Alliana, the new president, at 11.5%, behind Paraguayan politician Miguel Prieto at 20.5% and two other candidates.
These are bets, not polls, and a market with about US$12,000 traded can swing on a few trades. Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely.
We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Does It Mean for You?
If you hold Ueno’s 2031 bonds, or a fund that does, the interventors’ findings will shape what is recovered, and no recovery estimate has been published. If you have a Paraguayan account as an expat or traveller, our depositor guide explains the payout steps.
Investors in Paraguayan assets can watch the guaraní, which weakened sharply against the dollar during the week. Our reports on the dollar jump and the banking system show how the rest of the sector looks, and our Ueno and Nubank comparison helps readers who know Nubank, Brazil’s digital bank.
What Is Not Known
- The exact solvency ratio: the BCP said only that it was below 50% of the minimum, and one report that cites 5.56% is unconfirmed.
- The Senate tally: its press release says the vote was unanimous among senators present, while reports give 44 to 0 or 44 of 45.
- The form of Peña’s custody and what follows his questioning by prosecutors on Saturday 7 November, including whether a judge sets conditions.
- The true size and purpose of the Vinanzas transfer, which prosecutors and regulators have not yet proved in court.
- When Peña’s Ueno shares ended, whether other officials such as former economy minister Carlos Fernández will be charged, and whether the Senate will ratify a new BCP head.
- The size of the hole in Ueno’s accounts and the fate of its bonds; we found no IMF or US government statement as of 7 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ueno Bank scandal?
Paraguay’s central bank found Ueno Bank’s capital below half the legal minimum on 2 November 2026 and began its resolution on 3 November. Prosecutors charged 27 people, and the Senate removed President Santiago Peña on 6 November.
When did the Ueno Bank crisis start?
The central bank board decided on Monday 2 November 2026 and announced the resolution on Tuesday 3 November. Ueno itself dates to 2021, when Grupo Vázquez took control of the finance company behind it.
Who runs Paraguay now?
Pedro Alliana, the former vice president, was sworn in on Friday 6 November 2026. He serves until August 2028.
How many Paraguayans were Ueno customers?
Ueno had about 2.9 million customers when the BCP acted. Paraguay has about 6.46 million residents by INE projections, and customers are not necessarily different people.
Is anyone convicted in the Ueno case?
No. Prosecutors charged 27 people on 4 November, and a judge ordered six Ueno executives held before trial, but no court has ruled on guilt.
Sources: Paraguayan Senate press releases of 4 and 6 November 2026 (senado.gov.py); Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) communiqué on Ueno’s resolution of 3 November 2026; Public Prosecutor’s Office and court statements of 4 to 6 November; Ueno Bank announcements and audited statements; FIX rating report; National Statistics Institute (INE) population projection 2026; Polymarket market data. Read on 7 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief