The Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) will have 15 days to respond to a Senate request concerning banking operations, focusing on Ueno Bank, the concentration of public funds, transactions with related companies and regulatory decisions adopted after the institution merged with Visión Banco in June 2024. The demand comes as the Paraguayan Banking Association (Asoban) seeks technical explanations and equal treatment for institutions across the system.
Asoban’s document, submitted to President Santiago Peña and the BCP, examines the bank’s published balance sheets, the regulator’s own statistical bulletins and data from the Directorate-General of the Public Treasury. According to the analysis, the institution’s balance sheet grew by G. 7.113 trillion in 2025. Of that increase, 34.4% came from public-sector deposits, 43.9% from other liabilities with the nonfinancial sector and 9.6% from equity contributions.
Public deposits at the bank rose from G. 1.747 trillion to G. 4.192 trillion during 2025, an increase of 140% concentrated among up to 10 depositors. The institution’s share of state funds deposited in the banking system increased from 5.7% in July 2024 to 18.6% in December 2025. By July 2026, the State and the Social Security Institute (IPS), Paraguay’s social security and public health institution, held about G. 5.1 trillion at the institution, equivalent to approximately US$862 million at that month’s exchange rate.
The association also pointed to a discrepancy in records from March 2026. The bank’s quarterly balance sheet reported G. 3.164 trillion in public deposits, while the Directorate-General of the Treasury recorded G. 3.721 trillion in guaraníes, in addition to US$235 million. The document cautions that the available data do not make it possible to determine whether the difference resulted from an accounting reclassification, a change in the consolidation perimeter or another factor.
Another issue cited was the evolution of solvency. According to the analysis presented by Manuel Ferreira, an economist and former finance minister, the institution’s ratio stood at 14.5% in June, above the regulatory minimum he cited, 12%, but had been falling. Ferreira said that, as far as he had verified, there was no evidence of an explicit violation of the rules; Asoban’s concern was gradual deterioration, exposure to related companies, liquidity quality and the concentration of public deposits.
The Senate also questioned the so-called “Rivarola report,” a memorandum dated July 10, 2026, attributed to Fernando Rivarola, then BCP supervision manager and currently a board member of the Development Finance Agency (AFD). Its full contents are not public. The senators want to know whether the document was received by the Superintendency of Banks, how it was processed and whether there was a divergence between the technical area and the supervisory body’s final decision.
The concerns were discussed at two meetings between Asoban and Peña in September, one of them attended by BCP President Carlos Carvallo and representatives of banks, including Ueno Bank. The banking institution, which began as a digital operation and expanded after the 2024 merger, quickly increased its share of consumer credit and public deposits.
Economist Dionisio Borda warned of the risks of concentration and transactions with related companies, but said he trusted the independent action of the BCP and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Business representatives, including Laura Ramos of the Club de Ejecutivos and Hugo Pastore of the Paraguayan Chamber of Exporters and Traders of Cereals and Oilseeds, defended transparency, technical autonomy and consistent application of the rules.
Ferreira warned that banks operate mainly with third-party funds: in an example involving US$1 billion in assets, about US$120 million would be equity and US$880 million would come from the public. Simultaneous withdrawals can put pressure even on an institution with no prior problems, especially because a significant portion of the funds is invested in loans or other assets. In his view, the BCP must respond with concrete data and should not use banking secrecy to avoid explaining aggregated information of public interest.
Senator Ever Villalba of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) spoke of alleged “strong and blatant favoritism” toward Ueno Bank and called for an investigation. That political accusation has not been independently corroborated by the available information. Former mayor Miguel Prieto, leader of the opposition movement Yo Creo, said that the Colorado Party (ANR), especially the Honor Colorado faction linked to former President Horacio Cartes, was using the BCP as an instrument in an internal power struggle. That statement also remains a political allegation, with no evidence presented to substantiate it.
Manuel Ferreira and other sector representatives insisted that publicizing technically unsupported suspicions can affect depositors’ confidence. The debate therefore involves two simultaneous risks: clarifying possible problems involving concentration and supervision, while preventing unsubstantiated accusations from triggering mass withdrawals or transfers in a system based on trust.