Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Feb. 25, 2013	Jun. 29, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	BPOP
Entity Registrant Name	POPULAR INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000763901
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		103,206,380
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 1,633,095,200