Paraguay's President Peña Announces Resignation as Impeachment Moves Forward
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday, November 5, according to Al Jazeera. Politicians had already filed formal impeachment charges against him, a process by which lawmakers can seek to remove an official from office. On Friday, the Senate met and opted to move forward with efforts to remove him.
Both steps follow the collapse of Ueno Bank, a digital bank. Reuters reported that the collapse triggered a political and financial crisis in Paraguay. Peña has requested a 72-hour extension to present his defence at the impeachment hearing.
Ueno was established in 1976 and was granted a full banking licence in 2023. It reported about 3 million customers, roughly 60 percent of Paraguay's adult population, and a network of more than 70 branches. Peña is a former economist at the International Monetary Fund, and until March 2025 he held a stake in Grupo Vazquez, the parent company that owns Ueno, according to Al Jazeera's reporting.
The central bank acted after finding that Ueno's solvency ratio, a measure of a bank's financial cushion against its obligations, had dropped to less than half of the legal requirement. The bank's board of the central bank voted unanimously to start a resolution procedure, a legal process in which a regulator takes control of a troubled lender. The central bank then appointed a team to oversee the bank while it is in resolution.
The scale of the disruption is large. Al Jazeera reported that Ueno's nearly 3 million customers cannot withdraw cash, make digital payments or use their bank cards. According to central bank data, Ueno managed $800 million of public funds, including about $380 million invested by Paraguay's state pension and health fund.
Peña is also under criminal investigation over the collapse, according to the Associated Press. Ueno has previously said it is in full compliance with applicable legal and regulatory limits and requirements, as stated in a September 8 public notice.
The central bank has said its intervention would allow it to wind down Ueno Bank while protecting customers' savings, ABC News reported.
