Paraguayan President Santiago Peña submitted his resignation Nov. 5 after Ueno Bank shut down amid a solvency crisis, CNN's Gonzalo Zegarra reported. Congress was beginning impeachment proceedings, but at the time of CNN's report, it still had to decide whether to accept or reject the resignation.
In a social media message quoted by CNN, Peña said he made the decision with “the stability of our country, social peace, and the need to preserve our public institutions in mind.”
According to CNN, Paraguay's central bank found that Ueno's solvency ratio had fallen below 50% of the required minimum following adjustments to its financial statements. The report described Ueno as having 2.9 million customers and said thousands of customers' savings were frozen. CNN also described the private bank as an institution to which Peña had been linked and said it received millions in funds from public entities, including the Social Security Institute, during his administration. The report did not specify the nature of Peña's link to the bank or establish wrongdoing.
Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies began a special session to debate charges brought by 35 opposition lawmakers and ruling-party dissidents. They alleged “serious and systematic dereliction of duty” and proposed removing Peña from office.
