Paraguayan banks seek solvency disclosures as central bank faces scrutiny
Senators from governing and opposition parties have urged President Santiago Peña to replace the central bank’s leadership.
Paraguay’s banking association asked the country’s central bank on October 18 to disclose the solvency of lenders granted facilities during mergers. The request followed calls by senators for President Santiago Peña to dismiss the central bank’s board.
Representing 14 private lenders, the Association of Banks of Paraguay said disclosures would help resolve uncertainty and allow timely action if an institution failed to comply. In a statement carried by local media, it argued that lenders’ financial soundness should not depend on receiving different treatment.
The association described information the central bank had provided to the Senate about several private lenders as incomplete. It also said concerns remained about an unnamed private bank’s lending exposure to businesses within its own corporate group. Ueno Bank was among the lenders covered by the central bank’s report; local media have reported that it attracted substantial public deposits within a few years.
Senators across party lines sought the board’s removal, singling out central bank president Carlos Carvallo. Peña had previously defended the institution and appealed for calm over rumors concerning Ueno Bank. The central bank and Ueno Bank had not responded to the association’s statement.
