Ueno bank Paraguay: what happened and what to do

A bank with 3 million clients has stopped all deposit operations: on 2 November 2026 Paraguay's Central Bank placed ueno bank into resolution. What happens to deposits, cards, loans and salaries, and where to open a new account.

In detail

On 2 November 2026 the board of Paraguay's Central Bank voted unanimously to place ueno bank into a resolution procedure. In October 2026 the bank still called itself the country's number one by clients, with 3 million people, 2.4 million debit cards and 1.1 million credit cards. Deposit operations are now frozen, and every client is protected by a guarantee of up to $38,211 (₲228.3 million) that the law requires to be paid by 2 December 2026.

What happened to ueno bank

The board decided on 2 November 2026 and announced it publicly the next day. The legal basis is Paraguay's Law No. 2334 of 2003 on deposit guarantees and the resolution of financial institutions. The reason is plain: after accounting adjustments demanded by the supervisor, the bank's solvency ratio fell below 50% of the required minimum, which alone is enough under the law to take a bank off the market.

Resolution is a special procedure for banks that comes before bankruptcy. The Banking Superintendency, the supervisor within the Central Bank, appointed interim administrators who take over the branches, check what the assets are really worth and preserve the bank's property. Shareholders and directors lose their powers, and the bank stops all deposit operations: money cannot be withdrawn, transferred or spent until the Central Bank authorises specific operations.

The Central Bank calls ueno bank an isolated case with no threat to the rest of the banking system, and it publishes every instruction for depositors through its official channels only.

Why the Central Bank closed ueno bank

The problems built up from the spring. The first red flag was lending to companies of the group that controls the bank. On 5 June 2026 the Central Bank demanded in an official letter that these loans be brought within legal limits, and further demands followed on 24 July 2026. In October 2026 the bank stated publicly that it had complied on time.

It was not enough. Liquidity, the cash a bank can pay out to clients on demand, shrank. The review required extra provisions for weak borrower credit files and for information technology spending without full justification. A leak of confidential information sped up the outflow of money, and after all the adjustments the bank's capital fell below half of the required level.

The Central Bank will report signs of possible fraud to the competent authorities and investigate the responsibility of management and shareholders separately. The regulator will not rescue the bank in its old form: what matters now is how fast depositors get their money.

What happens to deposits at ueno bank

The key number is 75 minimum wages. With the minimum wage at ₲3,044,000 ($509), that is ₲228,300,000, or $38,211 at the exchange rate of 3 November 2026 (₲5,974.62 per dollar). That is what the Deposit Guarantee Fund protects for each person and each company at one bank. The rules:

• One person's accounts are added together: savings, current and term deposits count as one.
• Dollar deposits are protected like guaraní deposits, within the same limit.
• Foreigners and non-residents are covered on equal terms with Paraguayan citizens.
• A company is a separate depositor with its own limit, independent of the owner's personal accounts.
• A joint account's limit is split equally between the holders.
• Deposits of the bank's directors, managers and related parties, sham deposits and the bank's mortgage bonds are not covered.
• Deposits securing foreign trade deals and court deposits are covered at 100%.

The owner of a deposit is whoever is recorded in the register of depositors, on the signature card or on the certificate on 2 November 2026.

Money above the guarantee is not protected, but it does not vanish either. The supervisor is preparing an offset of assets against liabilities to preserve those amounts as fully as possible. Part of the bank's assets goes into an exclusion balance, a pool of property transferred to healthy banks together with the deposits, where guaranteed deposits and pension system money come first. If the assets cannot cover all deposits in full, then once everyone has the guarantee, further payments follow a linear rule: every depositor gets the same additional sum, not a percentage of the balance. The rest goes to court for compulsory liquidation, where depositors above the guarantee rank first after the bank's employees. That road is long, so large depositors should gather their documents now. The law keeps the contents of safe deposit boxes and trust assets managed by the bank out of the exclusion balance: they are not the bank's money.

When ueno bank depositors get their money back

The law allows 15 calendar days from the decision to pay the guarantee, which means by 17 November 2026. The Central Bank's board may extend this by another 15 days, to 2 December 2026.

The main route is to transfer guaranteed deposits together with assets to one or more sound banks through a competitive process, so the client's money simply appears at another bank. The law does not require clients' consent, and the deposit stays guaranteed at the new bank. The second option is the same transfer with shares in a securitisation, meaning securities issued against the bank's loans, and a direct payout is the exception. The Central Bank has promised to announce the procedure shortly. Do not share codes or passwords, and do not pay intermediaries to speed up a payout: decisions on ueno bank come only through the Central Bank's official channels.

Loans, cards, salaries and pensions at ueno bank

Set-off works both ways. Before the guarantee is paid, all of a client's debts to the bank are treated as due and deducted from their deposits. For example, a deposit of $8,369 (₲50 million) and a credit card debt of $837 (₲5 million) leave $7,532 (₲45 million) under the guarantee, and the card debt is settled. Remaining loan balances are paid to the account details announced officially.

Through ueno bank, 32,000 people received their pensions. Paraguay's Social Security Institute, the state pension fund, pays them on schedule, with the year-end thirteenth pension from 17 November 2026, and is already opening accounts for them at another bank. The Central Bank, for its part, guarantees pension payments on the usual dates.

For businesses, the most painful point is bank guarantees. Guarantees and sureties issued by ueno bank ended by law on the first day of the procedure. If one secured a lease, a tender or a supply contract, the counterparty will ask for a new one from another bank. Payroll, card acceptance and the company's automatic payments have to move too.

What ueno bank clients should do now

1. Skip the branch: deposit operations are suspended, and no cash is paid out there.
2. Keep statements, contracts and screenshots of your balances.
3. Open an account at another bank for yourself and your company.
4. Move automatic payments, subscriptions and regular income away from ueno bank cards and accounts.
5. Keep paying loans to the official account details, with no arrears.
6. If your accounts hold more than $38,211, gather documents for a claim above the guarantee.
7. Follow the Central Bank's announcements: the payout deadlines are 17 November and 2 December 2026.

Where to open a new account in Paraguay, including as a foreigner

The guarantee applies separately at each bank, so a large sum is safer split across two or three banks with no more than $38,211 at each: then all of the money is protected. The fund covers the country's private banks and finance companies, while the state-owned bank is not a member.

Citizenship is not required: non-residents' deposits are protected exactly like citizens'. The right bank depends on your passport, your status in the country, the amount and the origin of the money. On your own, opening an account as a foreigner stretches over weeks: documents are requested piece by piece, and a refusal sends you back to the start. We match the bank to your profile and run the process until the account is open: a personal account in Paraguay for non-residents or a business account in Paraguay for a company.

If you live in the country full time, secure resident status: Paraguay temporary residency or straight away Paraguay permanent residency. Money from abroad reaches the new account by an ordinary transfer, as explained in our guide on how to send money to Paraguay.

Does this affect other banks in Paraguay

The Central Bank calls the ueno bank case isolated: the cause lies in one bank's lending to related companies and lost liquidity, not in a crisis of the system. The Deposit Guarantee Fund was created by the 2003 law and is funded by quarterly contributions from the banks themselves.

The practical lesson is simple: keep the balance at each bank within the guarantee and have a backup account. If you are still choosing Paraguay for a move, read our pieces on moving to Paraguay and the best cities to live in Paraguay, and the Paraguay country page.

Our services for accounts and business in Paraguay

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Taxes and company structures in the country are covered in doing business in Paraguay, and the general rules for setting up abroad on the company registration page.

How to protect yourself: an account outside Paraguay

A second account in another country insures against the worst case: if a bank in Paraguay closes, your spending and your business keep running. How to choose a country and a bank is explained in our guide to opening a foreign bank account, banks for private clients by country are on the personal accounts page, and new places to live are in our overview of residence permits abroad.

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