Note Revenue from contracts with customers - Revenue strems (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
BPPR
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	$ 82,770	$ 84,419	$ 162,080	$ 163,897
BPPR | Service charges on deposit accounts
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	33,776	37,730	66,955	74,006
BPPR | Debit card fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	11,425	11,341	22,820	22,683
BPPR | Insurance fees, excluding reinsurance
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	8,650	8,958	15,887	16,315
BPPR | Credit card fees excluding late fees and membership fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	18,681	15,480	35,484	29,864
BPPR | Sale and administration of investment products
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	5,020	5,799	10,375	10,881
BPPR | Trust fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	5,218	5,111	10,559	10,148
Popular U.S.
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	4,655	4,686	9,036	8,913
Popular U.S. | Service charges on deposit accounts
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	3,326	3,343	6,602	6,603
Popular U.S. | Debit card fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	259	235	502	436
Popular U.S. | Insurance fees, excluding reinsurance
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	833	860	1,455	1,442
Popular U.S. | Credit card fees excluding late fees and membership fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	237	248	477	432
Popular U.S. | Sale and administration of investment products
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	0	0	0	0
Popular U.S. | Trust fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0