Note Segment reporting (Results of Operations) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2018
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	$ 470,963	$ 393,047
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	41,825	71,063
Non interest Income	136,430	113,497
Amortization of intangibles	2,312	2,325
Depreciation expense	14,295	12,833
Other operating expenses	330,813	306,844
Income tax expense	50,223	22,155
Net income (loss)	167,925	91,324
Segment assets	48,680,607	45,756,761	$ 47,604,577
Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	480,189	407,265
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	41,720	71,084
Non interest Income	126,493	100,827
Amortization of intangibles	2,288	2,325
Depreciation expense	14,107	12,646
Other operating expenses	329,171	285,613
Income tax expense	50,591	26,936
Net income (loss)	168,805	109,488
Segment assets	48,368,768	45,456,922
Intersegment Elimination
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	4	4
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(141)	(139)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(136)	(136)
Income tax expense	0	0
Net income (loss)	(1)	1
Segment assets	(113,126)	(14,471)
Corporate
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	(9,226)	(14,218)
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	105	(21)
Non interest Income	10,061	12,948
Amortization of intangibles	24	0
Depreciation expense	188	187
Other operating expenses	2,358	22,082
Income tax expense	(586)	(5,012)
Net income (loss)	(1,254)	(18,506)
Segment assets	5,021,367	5,033,543
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	0	0
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(124)	(278)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(716)	(851)
Income tax expense	218	231
Net income (loss)	374	342
Segment assets	(4,709,528)	(4,733,704)
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	407,357	332,268
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	31,349	58,469
Non interest Income	120,770	96,625
Amortization of intangibles	2,122	2,159
Depreciation expense	11,939	10,528
Other operating expenses	280,698	240,529
Income tax expense	45,376	25,847
Net income (loss)	156,643	91,361
Segment assets	38,896,514	36,244,300
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Commercial Banking | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	151,460	139,270
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	(1,992)	20,693
Non interest Income	23,589	12,562
Amortization of intangibles	49	52
Depreciation expense	4,654	4,289
Other operating expenses	72,929	60,261
Income tax expense	31,194	16,875
Net income (loss)	68,215	49,662
Segment assets	29,478,917	23,652,941
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Consumer and Retail Banking | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	254,668	191,434
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	33,341	37,776
Non interest Income	75,404	61,857
Amortization of intangibles	1,072	1,069
Depreciation expense	7,127	6,085
Other operating expenses	192,670	162,490
Income tax expense	11,743	7,457
Net income (loss)	84,119	38,414
Segment assets	23,039,995	20,618,670
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Other Financial Services | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	1,318	1,576
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	22,534	22,449
Amortization of intangibles	1,001	1,038
Depreciation expense	158	154
Other operating expenses	15,827	18,033
Income tax expense	2,439	1,515
Net income (loss)	4,427	3,285
Segment assets	327,487	346,096
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | Eliminations | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	(89)	(12)
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	0	0
Non interest Income	(757)	(243)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0
Other operating expenses	(728)	(255)
Income tax expense	0	0
Net income (loss)	(118)	0
Segment assets	(13,949,885)	(8,373,407)
PB | Reportable Segment
Segment Reporting Information
Net Interest income (expense)	72,828	74,993
Provision (reversal) for loan losses	10,371	12,615
Non interest Income	5,864	4,341
Amortization of intangibles	166	166
Depreciation expense	2,168	2,118
Other operating expenses	48,609	45,220
Income tax expense	5,215	1,089
Net income (loss)	12,163	18,126
Segment assets	$ 9,585,380	$ 9,227,093