Paraguay
Questions Raised Over BCP Autonomy and a Limited Response Is Expected to the Senate Request
After the meeting at Mburuvichá Roga and the Asoban statement, criticism grew over the role of the Central Bank of Paraguay. The opposition also doubts that the report requested by Congress will include substantive data.
The meeting held at Mburuvichá Roga on the situation of the financial system has so far left few public details. According to ABC Color, the only concrete information that emerged was a later statement from the Association of Banks of Paraguay (Asoban) and remarks by the president of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Carlos Carvallo, who spoke without taking questions.
In that context, Senator Esperanza Martínez, of Partido Participación Ciudadana, said the BCP’s image was affected. According to ABC Color, the lawmaker stated that President Santiago Peña not only undermines the country’s institutional framework, but also the reputation of the central bank as an independent and balanced regulator.
Still according to that outlet, Martínez also questioned the way the meeting was organized and said Peña exposed Asoban by also inviting financial institutions she considered aligned, including representatives of Ueno Bank. The senator linked that situation to what she described as a “revolving door” scheme, recalling that Carvallo had previously headed the then Financiera Ueno before being appointed to lead the BCP.
In its statement, cited by ABC Color, Asoban stressed that it expects the BCP and the Superintendencia de Bancos to carry out the functions granted to them by law with technical autonomy, considering that independence a pillar of stability, credibility and institutional strengthening in the financial system.
For his part, former senator Jorge Querey said the BCP has room to answer Congress’s request for information without exposing sensitive data. According to ABC Color, he mentioned as alternatives the possibility of sending a response with sections redacted due to legal restrictions stemming from the 2023 reform of the Banking Law, or a general report without identifying data on individuals or entities.
Querey considered a full response unlikely. Still according to ABC Color, he said such an answer could have a strong impact on the handling of BCP data and open new implications for future information requests to the financial system.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
