Ueno Bank: Carvallo leaves command of the Paraguayan BC after Peña's request

Carlos Carvallo formalized his departure from the Central Bank of Paraguay on Tuesday, 3rd, amid the episode involving Ueno Bank, the country's main credit card issuer, according to O Antagonista. The decision came after President Santiago Peña asked for the director's resignation, and it was Peña himself who announced his departure on Network X. The case leaves the Paraguayan monetary authority in the middle of a banking crisis that affects millions of customers.

Ueno Bank is majority-controlled by the Vázquez Group and has around 3 million account holders. According to the same publication, the institution manages something close to 850 million dollars in public resources invested in funds. Carvallo was in charge of the financial company Ueno until it became a bank, a process completed in 2023, which is why his connection with the group predates the conversion.

According to O Antagonista, the institution's solvency index plummeted to below half the minimum required level, after corrections made to the balance sheets. As a consequence, activities were interrupted and millions of users lost access to their accounts. The Central Bank of Paraguay has initiated a mechanism aimed at protecting depositors, while the Superintendence of Banks will appoint auditors to analyze the case.

In the judicial field, the Public Ministry of Paraguay opened an investigation and ordered the arrest of eight people linked to the bank. The investigation so far does not reveal what motivated the arrests, which makes it difficult to measure the size of the problem.

Peña presented a bill to allow the Guarantee Fund to be used for immediate payments to savers. According to the publication, the initiative also provides for the refund of funds from public funds, IPS and public pension funds. No values ​​or deadlines were disclosed.

The most delicate aspect, however, is the connections. Until March 2025, Peña held a shareholding in a structure linked to Ueno Bank, through Ueno Holding. For O Antagonista, these links generate suspicion of a possible clash of interests and doubts about the degree of supervision applied to the institution. In The X-Trader News' editorial analysis, a case of this type tests the credibility of any policy that depends on independent oversight and predictable rules.

What changes for the investor

For Brazilian investors, direct exposure to a Paraguayan bank tends to be limited, but the episode weighs on another front: confidence in banking supervision and the independence of monetary authorities in economies in the region. Cases of suspension of operations and doubts about conflicts of interest tend to increase caution with non-transparent institutions, which is worth checking in funds or assets with exposure to Paraguay. The data collected does not allow measuring the impact on prices, and this article does not recommend the purchase or sale of any asset.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.