Ueno founder’s rapid-rise story collides with Paraguay’s banking crisis

Ueno founder’s rapid-rise story collides with Paraguay’s banking crisis
Miguel Vázquez, the 36-year-old founder of Ueno Bank, was detained after Paraguay’s central bank intervened in the institution over insufficient capital, according to reports. The bank had grown rapidly after becoming a licensed bank in 2023, reaching about 3 million customers and $2.8 billion in deposits.

The official case centers on the condition of the lender and its dealings with companies linked to its controlling group. Banking supervisors found Ueno’s solvency ratio had fallen below half the legal minimum, while investigators identified more than $146 million in allegedly irregular loans to affiliated companies that exceeded regulatory limits. Prosecutors have also pursued former and current executives as they examine suspected fraudulent management, illicit enrichment and unpaid loans, the report said.

That account contrasts sharply with the business narrative surrounding Vázquez. He turned the family’s Credicentro finance company into Ueno, expanded through the acquisition of Visión Banco and promoted technology-driven services. His stated ambition was to build Paraguay’s first billion-dollar private company and eventually list a Paraguayan business in New York. In an earlier personal description, he wrote: “I am passionate about speed and competition,” adding that his focus was on “running at the speed of innovation” in each venture.

Authorities, however, are treating the group’s assets as potential safeguards for creditors and affected customers. Reports say courts froze assets linked to companies in the conglomerate, while police seized a yacht, two aircraft and nine high-end vehicles. Vázquez’s lawyers sought house arrest with electronic monitoring and offered properties as guarantees.

The fallout has extended beyond the bank. Reports said Ueno received more than $800 million in deposits from state bodies during Santiago Peña’s administration, and that Peña had investments in a group company. The resulting pressure was reported to have led to his resignation and a Senate impeachment process, underscoring how a banking intervention has become a broader test of public oversight.

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