Paraguay’s banking association, which groups 14 private lenders, on Sunday asked the Central Bank of Paraguay to report publicly on the solvency of all institutions that received facilities in merger processes. The association said the soundness of lenders cannot rest on differential treatment, and that if any entity does not comply, action can be taken in time.
The request follows a central bank report to the Senate, delivered at the Senate’s request, on the conduct of several private lenders, including Ueno Bank, which local media say has attracted substantial public deposits in just a few years. The association called that report incomplete and said concern persists over the credit exposure of one private bank, which it did not identify, to companies in its own group.
The politics are running ahead of the supervision. On Wednesday, senators from several parties urged President Santiago Pena to dismiss the central bank’s board, and in particular its president, Carlos Carvallo. Days earlier Pena had publicly backed the institution and called for calm amid rumours about Ueno Bank. Neither the central bank nor the lender had commented on the association’s statement when MercoPress published.
The history compounds the sensitivity. In 2024, Pena described reports on the purchase by the Social Security Institute of 250 billion guaranies of Ueno Bank bonds as a media campaign and lies. The bank’s head, Juan Manuel Gustale, said at the time that Pena was a shareholder in Ueno Holding and not in the bank, and the president said in April 2025 that he had sold those shares.