{
  "id": 19077084,
  "title": "Lost savings and broken trust: life for those hit by Ueno Bank’s closure",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/lost-savings-and-broken-trust-life-for-those-hit-by-ueno-banks-closure",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T03:07:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MercoPress",
    "slug": "mercopress",
    "url": "https://en.mercopress.com/2026/11/09/lost-savings-and-broken-trust-life-for-those-hit-by-ueno-bank-s-closure"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On November 3, nearly three million Paraguayans received a phone message stating, \"We cannot display your balance.\" This marked the beginning of the closure of Ueno Bank, taken over by Paraguay's Central Bank due to solvency issues. The freeze on deposits left many affected individuals without access to their money, including their savings and recently earned salaries.\n\nMarlyn López, a 43-year-old university lecturer from Piribebuy, was in the process of purchasing fuel using the bank's app when she learned of the closure. Her savings and salary totaled about 24 million guaraníes (roughly US$3,800), but she only had 30,000 guaraníes (US$5) in cash. López relied on colleagues transferring money to her, as she had not yet received any official notice from authorities about payment.\n\nSimilarly, Rubén Causarano, a 48-year-old blacksmith, mechanic, and beekeeper, had about 5 million guaraníes (roughly US$800) in Ueno Bank. As he needed to send money to his daughter for her studies, he broke open his piggy bank to obtain cash for fuel, enabling him to drive her to the bus. Causarano remains uncertain when he will receive his funds and fears that the situation could lead to a return to traditional methods of hiding money, like storing it under mattresses.\n\nThe authorities claim that they have paid half of the depositors, but many affected individuals still have not received any notice. President Santiago Peña, who faced allegations of irregularities and irregular loans to companies within the Vázquez Group, was removed from office and is now in pre-trial detention. The new president, Pedro Alliana, has promised that all affected individuals will eventually recover their savings, with repayment beginning for those with smaller balances at a maximum of 40 minimum wages (US$19,300).",
  "summary": "For nearly three million Paraguayans, November 3 began with a message on their phone screens: “We cannot display your balance.” Early that morning, Paraguay’s Central Bank took over Ueno Bank over a critical solvency problem and froze its deposits. A week later, with President Santiago Peña removed from office and in pre-trial detention, many of those affected still have no access to their money…",
  "key_points": [
    "Nearly three million Paraguayans received phone message of Ueno Bank closure on Nov 3",
    "Many affected individuals without access to savings and salaries due to freeze",
    "President Santiago Peña removed, new president promises eventual recovery of savings"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The sudden insolvency of Ueno Bank strips millions of essential liquidity, forcing vulnerable citizens to rely on meager cash reserves while waiting for a slow, tiered government repayment process.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}