Paraguay’s central bank is under political pressure over its supervision of ueno bank, a digital lender that has grown from a niche fintech into a mid-tier bank. Senators from the ruling party and the opposition have urged President Santiago Pena to remove the central bank’s top leadership, Reuters reported, even though that leadership is credited with helping Paraguay secure investment grade status.
The scrutiny follows the emergence of a preliminary administrative investigation into ueno and a central bank report sent to the Senate this month on loans the bank issued to related companies. The report was intended to dispel doubts and instead fuelled further questions from lawmakers, the banking association and business groups. Ueno says it has 3 million customers and manages roughly 800 million to 850 million dollars in public funds.
Both institutions pushed back in writing. The central bank told Reuters its regulatory and supervisory processes operate independently and in accordance with established legal procedures. Ueno said it would continue to fully cooperate and that the preliminary proceeding did not constitute a finding of wrongdoing. The case is a governance test rather than a solvency event on the evidence available, but it is testing the institutional reputation on which Paraguay’s recent success in attracting foreign capital, much of it from Brazil, has rested.