Who is Miguel Vázquez, the millennial banker and athlete at the center of the Paraguayan crisis

Miguel Vásquez had the firm intention of creating the first Paraguayan company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

And until a few months ago, it seemed that this 36-year-old businessman was going to achieve it: Ueno Bank, a financial entity that he created by expanding his father’s minority credit company, had managed to attract more than 3 million clients, in a country where the population does not exceed 6.5 million people.

But this week, Vásquez’s dream came crashing down, when the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) intervened in Ueno Bank, ensuring that it had detected indicators of insolvency in that entity.

The collapse of the financial institution ended up bringing down, in turn, the government of President Santiago Peña, due to its alleged links with the consortium known as Grupo Vásquez, a holding company within which was Ueno Bank, whose majority shareholder is Federico Miguel Vazquez Villasanti.

Vásquez surrendered to the authorities this week and his properties were raided by the authorities by order of the Prosecutor’s Office.

But who is Miguel Vásquez and what reach does the Vásquez Group have in Paraguay?

The “millennial” entrepreneur

In interviews with local Paraguayan media, Vásquez described the pride he felt in being a third-generation entrepreneur, after his maternal grandfather owned a Mercedes-Benz dealership, and his father launched Credicentro in the 1980s.

“A little bit, I am the union of those two families in Grupo Vásquez,” he explained to local media at the time.

As an only child, Vásquez focused his studies on business administration, earning diplomas from prestigious American universities in order to expand the family business.

The company followed a consolidation process, acquiring other smaller companies and investing in other sectors, leading it to issue shares on the Asunción Stock Exchange in 2012.

But it was in 2021 when the Vásquez Group began its true growth with the purchase of Financiera El Comercio: during the following years, Credicentro was renamed Ueno holdings, and the company submitted an application to the Central Bank of Paraguay to become a Bank.

That approval came in 2023 after the arrival of Santiago Peña to power.

Ueno Bank had an almost purely digital approach and launched attractive promotions to attract customers to its platform. Additionally, Ueno Bank became popular for its support of the national football team.

The success was such that its growth was meteoric: it went from half a million users in 2023 to more than 3 million in 2026.

In addition to Vásquez, seven other executives of the Group have been placed at the disposal of the authorities.

The relationship with Peña

Regarding his relationship with Santiago Peña, Vásquez has referred to him as a “true friend”, who was a minority investor in Credicentro in 2018.

Within his defense, Peña has said that he sold his shares in Ueno Holdings in 2025.

Until now, it is unknown what will happen to the rest of the Vásquez Group’s operations and investments, given the intervention and liquidation of Ueno Holdings.

Vásquez, who through his company supported car racing categories such as the World Rally, has said that he is a lover of speed in various areas of his life.

“I am passionate about speed and competing. Running in a rally car, running in triathlon races, running behind my children Facu, Lu and Fede. Running behind the ideas of my best friend and wife, Lala; but, above all, running at the speed of innovation in each of my endeavors.”

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