Paraguay President Santiago Peña resigns amid ueno bank collapse

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña resigned amid mounting protests and calls for impeachment following the collapse of digital lender ueno. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña resigned on Thursday as calls for his removal swelled following the collapse of digital lender ueno, which left millions of customers unable to access their accounts.

“I do so with the stability of our country, social peace, and the need to preserve our democratic institutions in mind,” he said in a video-recorded address on Thursday.

Peña, an ally of US President Donald Trump, is stepping down after the opposition called an extraordinary session to begin the process of filing an impeachment motion in Congress, while protesters demanded his resignation.

Earlier on Thursday, Peña lost the backing of members of his own conservative party. Vice-President Pedro Alliana is set to take office as his replacement.

Lawmakers allege conflicts of interest and misuse of funds

Lawmakers had accused Peña of conflicts of interest, misuse of pension funds and institutional cover-ups linked to the collapse of ueno, which had grown quickly from a niche fintech player into a mid-tier bank administering close to $850 million in public funds.

“My greatest wish is that the return of those funds be guaranteed, that the deposit guarantee fund fulfil its purpose, and that public funds - as well as the resources that belong to all Paraguayans - be protected,” Peña added in his address.

Central bank intervention leaves millions without access to accounts

Paraguay’s central bank intervened in ueno after determining that it had breached minimum solvency requirements, setting off a crisis that has left the company’s roughly 3 million customers, in a country of 6.5 million people, unable to access their accounts.

Ueno has made no public statement on the issue.

Published on November 5, 2026