2002 Uruguay banking crisis

The 2002 Uruguay banking crisis was a major banking crisis that hit Uruguay in July 2002. The crisis unfolded after years of heavy dollarization since the 1950s when chronic inflation and weak confidence in the peso led Uruguayans to prefer U.S. dollars. This left the economy highly exposed to external shocks. The crisis was caused by a considerable contraction in Uruguay's economy and by over-dependence on Argentina (tourism, and construction boom), which experienced a strong phase of an economic meltdown itself in late 2001. In total, approximately 1/3 of the country's deposits were withdrawn and five financial institutions were left insolvent. The value of the Uruguayan peso fell, losing nearly half of its value against the U.S. dollar in 2002.

Amid the crisis, the government's initial reliance on international banks to self-regulate delayed intervention, but political management eventually shifted.