Santiago Peña stepped down amid mounting scrutiny over his former ties to Ueno Bank’s parent company, as the lender’s collapse left millions of customers unable to access their funds.
5, 21:21 UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from X4T founder and CEO David Eisenmann and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation Thursday amid a deepening political crisis triggered by the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank.
In a video posted to X, Peña said he was stepping down to preserve the country’s stability, social peace and democratic institutions. He added that his priority was protecting Paraguayans who had entrusted their savings to the financial system.
Paraguay’s central bank announced resolution proceedings for Ueno Bank on Tuesday after finding that its solvency ratio had fallen below half the 12% regulatory minimum.
Peña faced mounting political scrutiny over his former business ties to Grupo Vázquez, the conglomerate that controls Ueno Bank. He remained a business partner of the group until March 2025, according to AP.
Peña has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the controversy began as a regulatory matter before escalating into a political dispute. The banking crisis also coincided with elevated asking prices for Tether’s USDt stablecoin on Bybit’s Paraguay peer-to-peer marketplace .