Deputy Roberto González of the Colorado Party (ANR) threatened to propose the impeachment of the president of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Carlos Carvallo Spalding—spelled “Carlos Cavallo Spalding” in one of the reports—if the monetary authority did not respond fully and objectively to questions about Ueno Bank and the custody of public funds.
During his intervention on the floor, González said he did not want to become an “accomplice” through silence in the face of a possible crisis in the financial system. The demand involves an information request approved by the Senate and statements by the Association of Banks of Paraguay (Asoban) about the safety of state investments.
The issues raised include Ueno’s financial position and liquidity, the treatment of transactions between related companies and the concentration of public deposits at the institution. The deputy highlighted funds belonging to IPS, Paraguay’s social security and public health institution, as well as other state funds. In his view, in the event of a crisis, depositors and public money would be the first exposed.
González also linked the discussion to Carvallo Spalding’s career: he had presided over Ueno Bank before taking charge of the BCP. In the lawmaker’s assessment, recent legislative and regulatory changes, including amendments to provisions on conflicts of interest in public service, eased solvency and capital requirements for banks to raise state funds. González presented this interpretation as criticism of the government of Santiago Peña.
The deputy said the Superintendency of Banks should verify solvency, liquidity and transactions between related companies. If he considers the BCP’s responses to the Senate and sector institutions insufficient, he said he would seek to hold “whoever is responsible” politically accountable, including the head of the monetary authority.
González also argued that the questions did not arise spontaneously, but were the consequence of government decisions that, in his assessment, favored a bank linked to Peña’s former business partners. He challenged the “neopeñistas”—defenders of Peña’s government—to offer a “minimally reasonable” defense of the Executive’s oversight of the financial system.
The controversy therefore involves three fronts: the Senate’s request for clarification, concerns expressed by Asoban and González’s political offensive against the government and the BCP. The lawmaker said that if the institution did not clarify the safety and management of public funds, he would not hesitate to submit the impeachment request.