BCP: Seven banks face 11 sanctions

A review of the Banco Central del Paraguay public sanctions registry identified 11 concluded administrative proceedings with sanctions involving seven banks operating in the country. The cases relate to anti-money laundering compliance, fiduciary management, credit risk, provisioning, accounting records and the delivery of information to the Superintendency of Banks. None of the material reviewed presents them as cybersecurity sanctions.

Which banks account for the sanctioned proceedings?

Banco Itaú Paraguay appears with three sanctioned proceedings, while Banco Atlas and Visión Banco each have two. Banco Continental, Banco GNB Paraguay, Banco Regional and Interfisa Banco each appear once, according to the review published by La Tribuna.

The coverage notes that the sanctions were recorded in the BCP public registry and can be consulted there. ABC Color also reported that sanctions imposed by the Superintendency of Banks across all matters are public and available in that same registry.

What types of violations appear in the cases?

The records compiled in the registry cover failures linked to anti-money laundering controls, fiduciary management, credit risk, provisions, accounting entries and the delivery of regulatory information. The material also separates those cases from any sanction specifically tied to cybersecurity.

In the detail published by La Tribuna, one of Visión Banco's sanctions dates to 2018 and was related to failures in its anti-money laundering prevention system. Another, from 2023, was linked to regulatory obligations involving exceptional support measures during the pandemic and to insufficient provisions.

What did the BCP say about these sanctions?

The Banco Central del Paraguay said, in statements reported by La Nación, that banks are subject to inspections and administrative proceedings, and that a public sanctions registry exists. That response adds institutional context on the oversight mechanism, but does not add new detail on the 11 reviewed proceedings.

ABC Color also published a BCP response saying the institution does not have sanctions imposed specifically for cybersecurity issues. Separately, RDN reported that the presentation of a BCP report in the Senate included references to complaints about possible computer fraud and observations about technology controls at Itaú, although that coverage did not identify them as cybersecurity sanctions or include them in the tally of 11 sanctioned proceedings.