How Paraguay’s Ueno collapse is only its latest banking crisis – Al Jazeera

How Paraguay’s Ueno collapse is only its latest banking crisis  Al Jazeera

President Santiago Pena is under fire over links to parent company of collapsed bank. Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena is facing impeachment following the collapse of Ueno Bank, a major digital bank, which has plunged the South American country into its deepest political crisis in more than a decade. Pena announced his resignation on Thursday, but politicians formally filed impeachment charges against the president. Pena, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist, then requested a 72-hour extension to present his defence at an impeachment hearing, because he had been given less than 12 hours to answer “an accusatory writ and about 300 pages of attachments”, adding: “That is not due process.” However, the Senate convened a rare session on Friday to consider Pena’s political future, opting to move forward with efforts to remove him from office.

Until March 2025, Pena held a stake in Grupo Vazquez, the parent company that owns Ueno Bank. Ueno Bank was established in 1976 and remained a small financial operation for decades. After being granted a full banking licence in 2023, it rebranded and grew to become a household name in Paraguay within five years. Customers were incentivised with cashback offers on groceries and it built a network of more than 70 branches. The bank sponsored Paraguay’s national football team and its name was plastered across