Ueno Bank vs Nubank Differ Beyond the App

On Saturday 7 November 2026, Paraguay’s failed Ueno Bank and Brazil’s Nubank, a digital bank listed in New York, look alike on one point only: both won millions of customers fast through a phone app. They differ sharply in size, funding, regulation, ownership links and the safety net for savers.

In Plain English

• Central bank: the state institution that licenses and supervises banks.
• Deposit guarantee fund: an industry fund that repays savers up to a legal limit if a bank fails.
• Related party loan: a loan from a bank to companies or people linked to its owners.
• Solvency ratio: a bank’s capital as a share of its risky assets; a low ratio means a thin cushion.
• Digital bank: a bank whose customers mainly use a phone app.

Where the Comparison Holds

Both banks built their business on the phone screen rather than on branches. Our Ueno Bank depositors guide explains the shutdown for ordinary account holders.

Ueno reported about 2.94 million clients at June 2026, before the Banco Central del Paraguay (BCP), the country’s central bank, took control. Those are clients, not unique people, because accounts and companies are included.

Paraguay’s statistics office, INE, projects 6.46 million people for 2026. Ueno’s clients therefore equal about 46% of the population.

Nubank is run from São Paulo by Nu Holdings Ltd. (Nu), a Cayman Islands company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It reported almost 118 million customers in Brazil, about 55% of the 213.4 million people that IBGE, Brazil’s statistics institute, estimated for 1 July 2025.

That similar share of the home population is the one striking parallel. In both cases a phone app reached a very large slice of the nation.

Where Scale and Reach Differ

At December 2025 Ueno was the fifth largest private bank in Paraguay, with 5.9% of loans and 8.9% of deposits. Those figures come from a March 2026 report by FIX SCR, a credit rating agency, using BCP data.

Audited accounts at 31 December 2025 show total assets of Gs 21.096 trillion (US$3.21 billion) and customer deposits of Gs 14.65 trillion (about US$2.23 billion). We convert at Gs 6,575.71 per US$, the BCP rate the rating agency used, and elsewhere at Gs 5,976 per US$ (6 November 2026 close).

Ueno’s loans equalled 77% of its customer deposits, and 47.5% of deposits were term deposits, known as CDAs. It issued a US$350 million international bond in 2026 and announced a US$100 million capital plan in the last week of October.

Nubank’s Brazilian deposits stood at US$36.4 billion in June 2026, roughly 16 times Ueno’s. Its global deposits of US$45.3 billion, up 18% from a year earlier, are about 20 times larger.

Nubank has 139 million customers across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. It earned US$1.06 billion in the second quarter of 2026, its first quarter above US$1 billion, with a return on equity of 33%.

In Brazil alone, Nubank’s customers outnumber Ueno’s clients about 40 times. The dates differ, with Ueno’s balance sheet at December 2025 and Nubank’s at June 2026, so the ratios are approximate.

Nubank’s credit portfolio of US$39.4 billion sits against deposits of US$45.3 billion. Its group wide cost of deposits was 88% of interbank rates, the rates banks charge each other.

The safety nets differ too. Paraguay’s guarantee fund covers up to 75 monthly minimum wages per depositor per bank, which is Gs 228.3 million (about US$38,200).

The first payout stage covers depositors with balances up to Gs 10 million (about US$1,673). Later stages for larger balances have no published dates.

Brazil’s deposit guarantee fund, FGC, covers up to R$250,000 (about US$45,000 at 5.505 reais per US$, 6 November 2026 close) per depositor per institution group. Under FGC rules as published, the overall cap is R$1 million (about US$182,000) per depositor every four years.

Why Ownership Links Matter More Than Size

Ueno Bank S.A.E.C.A. is a private bank controlled by Grupo Vazquez, a Paraguayan business group. U Paraguay S.A., a company inside the group, holds 91.21% of its capital. Ueno is unrelated to Brazil’s Banco Original, a separate Brazilian bank.

The BCP board decided unanimously, on 2 or 3 November 2026 depending on the report, to start a resolution, meaning a controlled shutdown, after Ueno’s solvency ratio fell below half the legal minimum. The legal basis is Law 2,334/03 on deposit guarantees and the resolution of financial entities.

The Superintendencia de Bancos is BCP’s bank supervisor. BCP president Carlos Carvallo said the decision followed months of technical work that began in June 2026.

That month the supervisor found signs of loans to companies linked to the group that controls the bank. Audited note 16 lists credit and contingent exposure to related persons and companies of Gs 351.6 billion (about US$53.5 million) at 31 December 2025.

A year earlier the same note showed Gs 334.9 billion (about US$50.9 million at the same rate). Prosecutors cite a larger figure that we cannot confirm.

The irony is sharp, because a rating published in 2026 on Ueno’s own website still described the bank as reasonably capitalised, months before the failure. It put effective capital at 15.8% of risk weighted assets (assets counted by how risky they are) at December 2025, with equity at 10.0% of assets.

That is a fact of the published report, not an allegation. It shows how little a headline capital ratio says about links between a bank and its owners.

Carvallo had led Financiera Ueno, the lender that became Ueno Bank, before he headed BCP. As we reported, Banco Central del Paraguay chief Carlos Carvallo resigned on 3 or 4 November, and he surrendered to police after prosecutors ordered his arrest, on the night of Friday 6 November.

On Friday 6 November the Senate removed President Santiago Peña. Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in the same evening.

The Strongest Counter-Argument

Nubank is also young, fast growing and heavy on credit cards, which make up US$26 billion of its US$39.4 billion credit portfolio. Its delinquency rate, the share of loans overdue, was 4.8% for 15 to 90 days and 6.9% for over 90 days.

A sceptic can therefore argue that the lesson is about governance, not the app format. That is fair, and it is why ownership links, supervision and the safety net matter more than the screen the customer sees.

Nubank’s Brazilian structure is also still changing. In its results release of 13 August 2026, Nu said: “in Brazil, we are evolving our structure, adding a full banking license to our operations”.

Nu has also been reported to be buying Banco Porto Real, a small licensed lender, to obtain that licence. The deal needs approval from the Banco Central do Brasil, Brazil’s central bank.

What It Means for You

An investor holding Nubank shares faces a different risk from Ueno’s: credit quality and the pending licence, not ownership links. Our Nubank explained guide describes its products.

For exposure to Paraguay, read our analysis of Paraguay bond risk and the IMF. Ueno’s US$350 million international bond has an unknown fate.

Travellers and expats in Paraguay with Ueno cards should know that the app, cards and ATMs were suspended when we published. Whether and when they reopen is not known, so check the payout rules in our depositors guide.

Nubank customers in Brazil should ask which Nu company holds their money and whether it is covered by FGC. Anyone with more than the covered amount at one institution group holds the excess without that protection.

What Is Not Known

The size of the hole in Ueno’s balance sheet is unknown, and so is the exact solvency ratio, because reports differ. We use no figure.

The exact date of the intervention is contested, either 2 or 3 November. Prosecutors cite a larger total of loans to linked companies than the audited note, and the audited accounts also list a separate, larger related-party item that we cannot match to either figure.

We do not know whether the Banco Central do Brasil has approved Nubank’s full Brazilian bank licence or the Banco Porto Real deal. We also do not know the fate of Ueno’s 2.9 million accounts or of its US$350 million bond.

Payout dates for balances above the first stage have not been published. We use only the 75 monthly minimum wage guarantee.

Sources: Nu Holdings Q2 2026 results release (13 August 2026); Ueno Bank audited financial statements 31 December 2025 and Q1 2026 report; FIX SCR rating report on Ueno Bank (31 March 2026); Banco Central del Paraguay resolution communiqués (as reproduced); FGC published coverage rules; IBGE population estimate 2025; INE Paraguay projection 2026. Read 7 November 2026. BCP and FGC websites blocked automated access, so their figures come from reproductions of their communiqués.

Part of the dossier: Paraguay Crisis, Peña Removal and Ueno Bank. Related: Pedro Alliana, Paraguay’s new president and the first Ueno payouts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ueno Bank the same as Brazil’s Banco Original?

No. Ueno Bank S.A.E.C.A. is a Paraguayan private bank controlled by Grupo Vazquez, and it is not Brazil’s Banco Original.

How much of a deposit does Paraguay’s guarantee cover?

The guarantee fund covers up to 75 monthly minimum wages per depositor per bank, Gs 228.3 million (about US$38,200 at Gs 5,976 per US$).

Is Nubank a bank in Brazil?

Nu said on 13 August 2026 that it is adding a full banking licence in Brazil. We do not know whether the Banco Central do Brasil has approved it.

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