Quantitative information by loan class for loans modified as T D R (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012 loans	Jun. 30, 2012 loans
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1,846	3,725
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	$ 130,530	$ 227,377
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	133,884	232,523
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	3,945	8,934
Commercial Multi Family [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
Commercial Real Estate Non Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	2	8
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	2,390	8,486
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	2,525	8,626
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	188	(785)
Commercial Real Estate Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	11	21
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,481	7,693
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,070	7,282
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	1	(38)
Commercial And Industrial Loans [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	30	78
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	18,392	24,764
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	18,061	24,434
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	229	250
Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	3
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	2,670
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	2,670
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	52
Mortgages
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	715	1,199
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	93,674	158,611
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	96,995	162,616
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	2,692	7,812
Legacy [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	3
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	321	1,272
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	316	1,267
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	(3)	(3)
Finance Leases Portfolio Segment Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	34	62
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	499	1,009
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	481	966
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	53	103
Consumer Credit Card Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	744	1,631
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	6,296	13,521
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	6,981	15,347
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	4	44
Home Equity Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	1
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	150	150
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	134	134
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	(1)	(1)
Personal [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	293	691
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,290	9,079
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,285	9,080
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	782	1,501
Consumer Loans Auto Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	3
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	3	47
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	3	27
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	(1)
Consumer Other Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	14	25
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	34	75
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	33	74
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
PUERTO RICO
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1,819	3,667
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	125,425	213,183
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	129,129	218,588
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	3,408	7,920
PUERTO RICO | Commercial Multi Family [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
PUERTO RICO | Commercial Real Estate Non Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	6
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	138	2,690
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	534	3,090
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	4	(969)
PUERTO RICO | Commercial Real Estate Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	11	21
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,481	7,693
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,070	7,282
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	1	(38)
PUERTO RICO | Commercial And Industrial Loans [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	30	78
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	18,392	24,764
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	18,061	24,434
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	229	250
PUERTO RICO | Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	2
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	1,097
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	1,097
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	52
PUERTO RICO | Mortgages
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	691	1,148
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	91,292	153,208
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	94,681	157,191
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	2,335	6,978
PUERTO RICO | Finance Leases Portfolio Segment Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	34	62
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	499	1,009
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	481	966
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	53	103
PUERTO RICO | Consumer Credit Card Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	744	1,631
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	6,296	13,521
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	6,981	15,347
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	4	44
PUERTO RICO | Home Equity Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
PUERTO RICO | Personal [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	293	691
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,290	9,079
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,285	9,080
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	782	1,501
PUERTO RICO | Consumer Loans Auto Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	3
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	3	47
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	3	27
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	(1)
PUERTO RICO | Consumer Other Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	14	25
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	34	75
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	33	74
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	27	58
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	5,105	14,194
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	4,755	13,935
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	537	1,014
UNITED STATES | Commercial Multi Family [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Commercial Real Estate Non Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	2
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	2,252	5,796
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	1,991	5,536
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	184	184
UNITED STATES | Commercial Real Estate Owner Occupied [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Commercial And Industrial Loans [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	1
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	1,573
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	1,573
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Mortgages
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	24	51
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	2,382	5,403
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	2,314	5,425
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	357	834
UNITED STATES | Legacy [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	3
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	321	1,272
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	316	1,267
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	(3)	(3)
UNITED STATES | Consumer Credit Card Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Home Equity Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	1	1
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	150	150
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	134	134
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	(1)	(1)
UNITED STATES | Personal [Member]
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Consumer Loans Auto Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	0	0
UNITED STATES | Consumer Other Financing Receivable Member
Troubled Debt Restructuring, Debtor, Current Period [Line Items]
Modifications Number Of Contracts	0	0
Financing Receivable Modifications Pre Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivable Post Modification Recorded Investment 1	0	0
Financing Receivables, Impaired, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Write-down	$ 0	$ 0