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President Pedro Alliana said on 10 November that around 1.74 million depositors had received payments after Paraguay’s central bank placed Ueno Bank into resolution. The payments do not mean every recipient recovered their full balance.
Paraguayan President Pedro Alliana said payments through the Deposit Guarantee Fund had reached Ueno Bank depositors, returning money after the lender’s collapse blocked access to accounts. He gave the repayment figures in a November 10 announcement covered by Euronews. Receiving a payment does not establish that a customer has recovered all their savings.
The Central Bank of Paraguay placed Ueno into resolution after its solvency ratio fell below half the required minimum. That ratio measures a bank’s capital against its assets, adjusted for risk. Resolution allows regulators to transfer deposits to other institutions before liquidating the remaining assets, as Al Jazeera explained. Customers lost access to cash withdrawals, digital payments and bank cards.
Euronews earlier reported that the central bank had placed Ueno under intervention and opened its liquidation process; it described the solvency ratio as having fallen below 50%.
Ueno served about 2.94 million customers, roughly 60% of Paraguay’s adult population, DW reported.
Euronews described people begging to withdraw money for medicine for a seriously ill child, and a construction worker unable to access savings to buy food for his children.
Giovanni Catolinom, 40, told AFP that around $16,000 belonging to his new travel agency was still trapped in the bank, France 24 reported.
Euronews said the guarantee scheme covers up to about $38,600 per depositor, while initial advances are limited to approximately $20,000. The first figure is the coverage ceiling; the second limits the initial payment. Neither means customers with larger balances are guaranteed to recover everything.
The UK telecoms group reported £1.1 billion (about $1.5 billion) in pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 September, while its workforce fell to 90,000, excluding its international business.
Al Jazeera reported that the central bank estimated the guarantee would cover the full balances of 97% of customers.
Al Jazeera reported that Congress passed a law providing a state-guaranteed fund to repay depositors within five business days, with payments scheduled to start Thursday for accounts holding up to $1,600.
The repayment process began with smaller accounts. On 6 November, the central bank started paying customers holding up to $1,565 who had no outstanding debts and an account at another institution, the Guardian said.
The Guardian reported that Paola Benítez, a 25-year-old chef from Asunción, met all three conditions but had not recovered her wedding savings by late afternoon on 6 November.
Around $800 million belonging to public bodies is at risk, including resources from five retirement funds, Euronews said. Recovery remains uncertain. Alliana said recovering pension funds deposited at Ueno would be a government priority.
Al Jazeera, citing central bank data, reported that Ueno managed $800 million in public funds. Euronews had earlier put the amount at around $850 million.
Among the affected institutions is the Social Security Institute, which manages pensions and part of Paraguay’s health services. Al Jazeera, citing central bank data, put the state pension and health fund’s investment at Ueno at about $380 million.
DW reported that the institute manages pension and health care funds for most Paraguayan workers. It earlier reported, citing the institute’s financial manager Gladys Vera, that its $355 million holding at Ueno represented about 9% of its investments.
Euronews reported on 5 November that the Chamber of Deputies was scheduled to vote the following day on opening impeachment proceedings against Peña, at the request of 35 legislators. The opposition accused central bank leaders of complicity in fraud through omission; the impeachment accusations against Peña included conflicts of interest, alleged embezzlement of pension funds and institutional protection for the central bank.
Alliana, previously vice president, took over after Paraguay’s Senate removed Santiago Peña on 6 November. Peña had offered to resign, but lawmakers impeached him instead, stripping him of the immunity he would have retained by stepping down.
The Guardian had reported on 6 November that Peña was placed under house arrest.
After taking office in 2023, Peña appointed Carlos Carvallo, a former head of Ueno’s predecessor company, to lead the central bank, Al Jazeera reported. Euronews reported that Peña later announced the bank chief’s departure and called on courts to establish responsibility; Al Jazeera said Carvallo resigned.
Prosecutors charged Peña on 7 November with breach of trust and mismanagement for personal gain, and Judge Hernan Otazu ordered him held in pretrial custody at the Asunción facility where he had been taken after his removal, France 24 said; Peña’s lawyer, Ricardo Preda, denied the charges and said a minister, not the president, decides where government money is deposited.
Peña denies improper ties to the bank, Al Jazeera reported. The Guardian reported that prosecutors were investigating him on suspicion of illicit enrichment, money laundering and influence peddling; he denied the allegations, and his lawyers said there was no evidence he directed pension funds to the bank.
Al Jazeera reported that a judge on Thursday ordered six Ueno executives, including founder Miguel Vazquez and bank president Juan Manuel Gustale, detained pending trial and placed two others under house arrest. Prosecutors charged 27 bank officials and associates with breach of trust and attempted fraud.
The government plans to complete the outstanding emergency-law reimbursements approved by Congress on 11 November.
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A separate decree adds 3 companies to the 4 already under temporary administration. Neither decree gives a reason for the intervention. Japan Tobacco shares remained untraded early on 9 November amid excess sell orders.
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Vietnam’s competition commission said on 5 November that the measures include a 32% combined-fee cap and about 3.9 billion dong (US$152,000) in reimbursements.
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