Santiago Peña is the target of a formal bid for removal from office as the insolvency of Ueno Bank ignites street protests and a worsening financial crisis in Paraguay. Authorities have ordered the arrest of eight executives from the digital lender, which the Banco Central de Paraguay seized on Nov 3. The regulator intervened after determining that the bank’s solvency ratio had fallen below 50% of the regulatory minimum, triggering a total freeze of the institution’s app, card payments and ATMs.
The closure affected roughly 3 million customers and locked $2.8B in deposits, including $380M from the state pension fund. While the central bank has capped individual recoveries at $1,700, depositors with balances exceeding $35,000 face total losses. The instability disrupted the retail sector, as Ueno processed about 66% of card transactions at major stores, and led to the resignation of the central bank chief, a former Ueno executive, at the request of the president.