The Director of Investments at Paraguay's social security and public health institution, the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS), Hugo Díaz, publicly admitted that Ueno Bank, linked to Grupo Vázquez SAE – whose president is Federico Miguel Vázquez, a former business partner of President Santiago Peña – exceeds the legal concentration limits for pension funds allowed by Law No. 7235/2023, which created the Superintendencia de Jubilaciones y Pensiones (Superintendency of Pensions and Retirement).
During a session of the IPS Board of Directors, Díaz stated that the bank is "over the limit in basic points" due to demand deposits, but argued that these amounts "are not investments" because they have no term, no interest rate, and are available on demand. The law stipulates that investment in a single financial institution cannot exceed 10% of the IPS's total portfolio.
According to IPS data from April of this year, the total portfolio is G. 20.1 trillion, making the maximum limit per bank approximately G. 2.01 trillion. However, Ueno Bank holds G. 2.15 trillion from the IPS, which represents almost 11% of the total, constituting an excess of approximately G. 140 billion.
Opposition senator Rafael Filizzola of the Partido Democrático Progresista (PDP) described Díaz's justification as "absolutely ridiculous" and called for the Public Ministry to open an investigation. He pointed out that Ueno Bank was a small financial company three years ago and, after Peña took office, began to concentrate significant volumes of public funds, reaching over G. 1 trillion in demand deposits by November 2024.
In contrast, President Santiago Peña denied any violation of legal limits and stated that the debate revolves around the interpretation of whether the limits are per type of instrument or per entity. He defended the solidity of Paraguay's financial system and vehemently criticized the disclosure of the case, describing it as bordering on "financial terrorism" for generating unfounded fear among contributors.