Paraguay President Santiago Peña resigns after bank collapse

Paraguay's President Santiago Peña has confirmed his resignation after a political crisis sparked by the collapse of a bank linked to him.

Key points

• Peña won election in 2023 representing Paraguay's ruling conservative Colorado Party, beating a centre-left challenger.
• Ueno Bank has remarked it has concerning three million customers, equivalent to regarding 60% of Paraguay's adult population.
• A new president of the Central Bank of Paraguay has been appointed and Congress has approved a process to pay depositors.
• His resignation comes after Paraguay's lower house of congress voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial.
• The central bank seized the digital lender, and individuals took to the streets protesting and demanding Peña's resignation.

"I want to apologise to the people if at any point I failed, " he remarked in a video message on social media. "It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me."

For context, the crisis erupted after Ueno Bank entered an insolvency process. It froze all operations. Lawmakers accused Peña, who was a shareholder until last year in the firm that owned the bank, of conflicts of interest and misconduct.

Peña has rejected suggestions of impropriety. His resignation comes after Paraguay's lower house of congress voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial.

In his video message posted on X, Peña remarked his resignation was to protect stability, social peace and democratic institutions.

After its collapse earlier this week, millions could not access their accounts, it held pensions and some other public funds and.

Notably, the central bank seized the digital lender, and individuals took to the streets protesting and demanding Peña's resignation.

In practice, a new president of the Central Bank of Paraguay has been appointed and Congress has approved a process to pay depositors.

For now, paraguay President Santiago Peña resigns after bank collapse remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.