UENO bank, one of Paraguay's largest banks with almost 3 million customers, has been closed by the Central Bank. What went wrong, who was involved, and will depositors get their money back?
In this video Lester Rietveld of Project Paraguay talks with Paraguayan accountant Marcelo Pallotta, a former ueno customer himself. Together they go through the full story: from a credit store at Mercado 4 to a top 5 bank in five years, the role of public money and political connections, the resolution procedure, and what it means for your savings.
In this video:
✅ How ueno grew so fast, and who helped it grow
✅ Why the Central Bank stepped in
✅ How the deposit guarantee and the emergency law work
✅ What happens to loans, credit cards and ueno cash mutual funds
✅ Whether the rest of the Paraguayan banking system is at risk
✅ Five lessons for anyone living or investing (in Paraguay)
Have you seen Jeroen and Lester’s take on it in Dutch yet? Link
Update: shortly after we recorded this video, President Santiago Peña announced his resignation over the ueno bank scandal. Peña was a shareholder of Ueno Holding until 2025, and an impeachment procedure had just been filed against him in Congress, with his own Colorado Party saying it would back it. Under the Constitution, Vice President Pedro Alliana takes over, although an impeachment request was filed against him as well. Congress still has to formally process the resignation. Stepping down ends the impeachment route, but it does not end the questions about his ties to the bank. The criminal case against 27 suspects linked to ueno is ongoing, so this story is far from over. For depositors nothing changes: the payout of the deposit guarantee continues.
