image source, Rodrigo BUENDIA / AFP via Getty Images
Since November 3, Favio Marcelo Vargas' days are no longer spent organizing moves and coordinating shipments. The intervention of Ueno Bank, the entity where he kept part of his savings and managed the accounts of his transportation company, completely disrupted his routine.
Now, the small businessman spends a good part of his days checking his email and the website of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), waiting for a signal that tells him that he will be able to recover his money.
"I get involved several times a day," Vargas told BBC Mundo, who, along with his wife, is part of the nearly three million Paraguayans affected by the fall of the financial entity, whose collapse unleashed a political crisis that ended up causing the departure of Santiago Peña from the country's presidency.
Less than 48 hours after the bank's intervention due to insolvency, the BCP launched the deposit return process.
As of this Monday, more than 1.7 million people had recovered all or part of their savings, according to the organization.
But Vargas is part of the large group of people who are still waiting.
"According to the BCP, millions have already recovered their savings, but I am one of those who have not received anything," he complained.
"Of the ten affected people that I know, only one has recovered part of their money. That's why I'm very worried, because I don't have any news about my money," he confessed.
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After explaining that the return of deposits is being carried out in batches, the authorities have asked citizens for patience and have attributed possible delays to ongoing reviews and situations such as the lack of alternative accounts for some 262,000 customers, France 24 reported.
"Everything is stopped"
But, as if the uncertainty about the destination of his savings were not enough, Vargas assures that he is also suffering the consequences of the economic slowdown caused by the intervention of Ueno Bank, the entity with the most clients in the country and the sixth by volume of deposits and loans.
"Work is stopped. Normally this time is very busy, because Christmas is approaching, but now my clients and many people have run out of money to pay," he commented.
The Association of Importers and Merchants of Paraguay (Asimcopar) recently warned that the Ueno Bank crisis has caused a "semi-paralysis" of commercial activity, because "two out of every three electronic operations are carried out through accounts" of the financial entity now intervened.
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The businessman, who has two children, considered himself lucky to have some savings in other banking institutions, which have allowed him to "buffer" the situation.
"There are many people who are not as lucky and who have had to ask family and friends for money to be able to buy food or groceries," he said.
Vargas' situation is far from being an isolated case.
"I lost 16 years of work," complained to AFP Giovanni Catolino, who runs a travel agency with his wife and says he is still waiting for news about the nearly US$16,000 he has blocked in Ueno Bank.
The deposit return process began with clients who had up to 10 million guaraníes (about US$1,600), did not have debts with the entity and had an account set up in another bank.
Subsequently, the BCP expanded the program to other groups of savers with deposits of up to 40 minimum salaries, equivalent to 121.76 million guaraníes (about US$19,500).
So far, financial authorities report that more than 2,000 billion guaraníes, about US$341 million, have been returned.
The resources come from the Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD), which before the outbreak of the crisis had assets of around US$1.6 billion, according to specialized media.
However, just a few days before its intervention, the management of Ueno Bank claimed that the entity was holding deposits worth close to US$2.8 billion.
The most complex situation is faced by those clients who had amounts above the legal limit covered by the FGD.
These large depositors will have to wait for the bank's assets to be liquidated and, according to experts, this may not be enough to cover all of the deposits.
"These people have to pay"
Another of the routines disrupted by the Ueno Bank crisis is that of Jorge Ramírez, who combined his work in a shopping center with his career as an actor, but now spends his time organizing saver protests.
"I was saving to pay for a month-long New Year's vacation, but again it won't be possible and all because of these rats," he lamented, while admitting that he "cried" when he found out about the financial institution's intervention.
More than a week after the bank's intervention, Ramírez still has no news about his savings.
"These people have to pay for everything they did," he told BBC Mundo.
Ueno Bank expanded under the Peña government, who was a partner of its owners until 2025.
Between 2023 and September 2026, deposits from state organizations and entities in the bank went from US$80.2 million to US$834.8 million, including some US$355 million from the Social Security Institute (IPS), which administers pensions.
At the same time, its private client portfolio went from 449,000 in 2022 to more than 2.9 million at the time of its closure, largely due to the facilities it offered for opening accounts compared to its traditional competitors and its promotions.
"It was very tempting. They had offers in pharmacies, supermarkets and gas stations," Vargas commented.
"To save a few cents I am now in this situation. But, if I had suspected that this was going to happen, I would not have put my money there even if they had pointed a gun at me," he concluded.
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