Note Segment reporting (Results of Operations) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	$ 362,098	$ 352,412
Provision for loan losses	40,698	44,835
Non interest Income	115,869	111,630
Amortization of intangibles	2,345	3,114
Depreciation expense	11,799	11,707
Other operating expenses	297,174	287,122
Income tax expense	33,006	32,265
Income (loss) from continuing operations	92,945	84,999
Assets	40,259,282	36,147,009	$ 38,661,609
Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	377,167	367,607
Provision for loan losses	40,698	44,869
Non interest Income	104,519	103,516
Amortization of intangibles	2,345	3,114
Depreciation expense	11,636	11,530
Other operating expenses	277,876	266,000
Income tax expense	41,218	40,333
Income (loss) from continuing operations	107,913	105,277
Assets	40,026,393	35,936,319
Intersegment Elimination
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	(164)	0
Provision for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(144)	0
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(138)	0
Income tax expense	(70)	0
Income (loss) from continuing operations	(100)	0
Assets	(22,946)	(52,740)
Corporate
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	(15,069)	(15,195)
Provision for loan losses	0	(34)
Non interest Income	11,427	8,177
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	163	177
Other operating expenses	19,926	21,731
Income tax expense	(8,423)	(8,281)
Income (loss) from continuing operations	(15,308)	(20,611)
Assets	5,004,658	4,938,750
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	0	0
Provision for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(77)	(63)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(628)	(609)
Income tax expense	211	213
Income (loss) from continuing operations	340	333
Assets	(4,771,769)	(4,728,060)
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	310,212	305,350
Provision for loan losses	30,118	40,800
Non interest Income	99,732	98,566
Amortization of intangibles	2,179	2,948
Depreciation expense	9,733	10,197
Other operating expenses	236,301	224,669
Income tax expense	33,998	31,877
Income (loss) from continuing operations	97,615	93,425
Assets	31,217,093	28,108,702
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Commercial Banking | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	120,296	115,553
Provision for loan losses	(573)	15,461
Non interest Income	19,428	22,412
Amortization of intangibles	54	22
Depreciation expense	4,262	4,286
Other operating expenses	60,833	58,161
Income tax expense	22,076	18,169
Income (loss) from continuing operations	53,072	41,866
Assets	17,559,586	11,317,146
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Consumer and Retail Banking | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	188,132	186,545
Provision for loan losses	30,691	25,339
Non interest Income	58,071	54,927
Amortization of intangibles	1,067	1,836
Depreciation expense	5,267	5,680
Other operating expenses	161,264	149,283
Income tax expense	8,983	12,379
Income (loss) from continuing operations	38,931	46,955
Assets	18,178,383	17,046,370
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Other Financial Services | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	1,787	1,615
Provision for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	22,311	21,311
Amortization of intangibles	1,058	1,090
Depreciation expense	204	231
Other operating expenses	14,292	17,309
Income tax expense	2,939	1,329
Income (loss) from continuing operations	5,605	2,967
Assets	325,217	342,867
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Eliminations | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	(3)	1,637
Provision for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(78)	(84)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(88)	(84)
Income tax expense	0	0
Income (loss) from continuing operations	7	1,637
Assets	(4,846,093)	(597,681)
Banco Popular North America | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net Interest income (expense)	67,119	62,257
Provision for loan losses	10,580	4,069
Non interest Income	4,931	4,950
Amortization of intangibles	166	166
Depreciation expense	1,903	1,333
Other operating expenses	41,713	41,331
Income tax expense	7,290	8,456
Income (loss) from continuing operations	10,398	11,852
Assets	$ 8,832,246	$ 7,880,357