Paraguay's new president: what it means for ueno depositors

The Senate removed Peña and Pedro Alliana was sworn in: what he promised depositors, who has been paid and when the rest get their money.

On the evening of 6 November 2026 Paraguay's Senate removed President Santiago Peña by 44 votes out of 45, and within the hour Pedro Alliana was sworn in. In his first speech the new president promised ueno bank depositors full compensation. What matters more for your money is this: payments are running under the law, 722,307 people have already been paid, and the guarantee fund is due to credit the bank's other customers by 11 November 2026.

What happened in Paraguay on 6 November?

Congress never accepted the resignation Peña announced the day before: the joint session of 5 November collapsed for lack of a quorum. So the Senate trial decided his fate. Senators refused him a 72-hour delay, heard his lawyers and found him guilty of poor performance of his duties. The ruling strips Peña of immunity, including the lifetime Senate seat an accepted resignation would have given him. The case file goes to prosecutors. Peña held shares in the group that owns the bank until March 2025, and the charges rested on conflict of interest and on the public money that reached ueno under his government.

The rest took an hour and a half. Alliana was sworn in and will serve until 15 August 2028. Congress elected Senator Antonio Barrios, a former health minister, as vice president. Prosecutors ordered the detention of Peña and of former Central Bank governor Carlos Carvallo in a breach-of-trust case. Peña is under police guard at home and has been summoned for questioning on 7 November. Prosecutors have yet to set out formal charges, and he denies wrongdoing.

What did Alliana promise depositors?

The new president said people hurt by the financial collapse "will be fully compensated" and demanded immediate action to repay depositors, with priority for the least well-off. The state news agency reported that part of the speech the same way: urgent measures for the bank's less well-off customers.

For now these are words from a speech. As of the evening of 6 November there is no law, amount, deadline or list of recipients, and the promise does not change your rights. Those sit in the deposit guarantee law, and the ceiling stays where it was: 75 minimum wages per person per bank. Paying more would take a new law and a source of money, so watch Congress: that is where a real document will appear.

We expect small deposits and pensioners to see any new help first, since the president named them directly. Holders of large sums should not build plans on that sentence yet.

How much has been paid, and how long do the rest wait?

The change of president did not alter the schedule: the Central Bank has issued no new notice on dates, and it still assigns each depositor a paying bank. Amounts at ₲6,249.39 per dollar on 6 November 2026:

The average payment in the first group was $44: the fund started with the smallest balances, which can be settled in full. The bank has 2.8 million customers in all. The Central Bank has counted 1.6 million people with an account at another bank, and the money goes there. For 265,000 people with no other account, one is opened automatically. Accounts opened in recent days go through a check first.

What if your money has not arrived?

There is no form and no registration: payment is automatic. The Central Bank's page www.bcp.gov.py/fgd-pagos shows one thing only, the bank or finance company assigned to you. If it is blank, your record is still loading, so try again later. The page is patchy under heavy traffic. Once your bank appears, download its app: that is the easiest way to use the money, since cash at branches may run short.

Money can also reach people who do not remember being ueno customers. The fund explains these cases by old accounts at institutions that were folded into ueno, such as Visión Banco and Financiera El Comercio, and by wallets opened in the past. If you are linked to the bank or excluded from the guarantee, the law requires you to return the payment within 24 hours of being notified. The Central Bank takes questions about amounts at pagosacreditadosfgd@bcp.gov.py.

Pensioners of the Social Security Institute need not go anywhere: the institute assigns a bank itself for the November pension and the year-end bonus. The full collection process is in our guide to what happened at ueno bank, and the advance law and the queue for balances above the guarantee are covered in our report on Peña's resignation.

Anyone asking for a password, card details or a fee to speed things up is a fraudster: the banking association reminds customers that nobody charges for the guarantee.

What does the change of government mean for depositors?

Our reading of the coming weeks:

• Central Bank leadership. Alliana now nominates the governor and the Senate confirms. That person shapes the sale of ueno's assets, and so what depositors recover above the guarantee.
• The bank's assets. The case against Peña and Carvallo does not stop payments from the fund, but investigators are already seizing property and freezing accounts. Balances above the ceiling are paid after assets are sold, which will take months.
• Public money. The impeachment charges put the funds of pension and state bodies at the bank at $900 million. Pressure on the new government will grow, and decisions on pensioners are likely to come first.
• Mutual funds. The manager of the Ueno Cash funds in guaraníes and dollars says it is handing them to another firm so that redemptions can restart. It gave no dates.

How to protect your money from here

The guarantee counts per person and per bank, so a large sum is safer across two or three banks. Keeping part of your savings in a bank account in another country also protects you from local politics. In five days this crisis went from one bank to the presidency, and a reserve outside a single system pays for itself. Relatives abroad who support a family here can read how to send money to Paraguay. Foreigners with income in several countries should check the tax rules in Paraguay in advance.

How we help ueno depositors

Since 2008 we have supported families and companies that need a new bank or a plan B outside their country, always through official routes.

If you are thinking about a plan B for the whole family, look at residency in another country and second citizenship programmes. For larger fortunes there are foundations and trusts and property abroad.

Sources: Central Bank of Paraguay and Deposit Guarantee Fund (bcp.gov.py), Senate of Paraguay, Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraguay, Social Security Institute, state news agency IP (mediosdelestado.gov.py).

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