Ueno Bank scandal threatens Paraguay’s reputation and Peña’s presidency

Paraguay is facing a major financial and political crisis after the Central Bank took control of Ueno Bank, a fast-growing digital lender with close ties to President Santiago Peña. The move, approved on Monday and publicly announced on Tuesday after news of the intervention had emerged, froze the funds of nearly three million customers and raised questions about the government’s oversight of the financial system. The Central Bank suspended all of Ueno Bank’s operations, setting in motion a process that could lead to its liquidation, after finding that its solvency ratio had fallen below 50%…