Summary of significant accounting policies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Accounting Policies
Summary of significant accounting policies	Note 4 – Summary of significant accounting policies The accounting and financial reporting policies of Popular, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Corporation”) conform with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and with prevailing practices within the financial services industry. A description of the significant accounting and financial reporting policies can be found on Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. In connection with the implementation of the CECL new accounting standard, the Corporation has made changes to certain of its accounting policies related to its loans portfolio, debt securities portfolio and allowance for credit losses Investment securities Debt securities that the Corporation has the intent and ability to hold to maturity are classified as debt securities held-to-maturity and reported at amortized cost. An allowance for credit losses is established for the expected credit losses over the remaining term of debt securities-held-to-maturity. The Corporation has established a methodology to estimate credit losses which considers qualitative factors, including internal credit ratings and the underlying source of repayment in determining the amount of expected credit losses. Debt securities held-to-maturity are written-off through the allowance for credit losses when a portion or the entire amount is deemed uncollectible, based on the information considered to develop expected credit losses through the life of the asset. The allowance for credit losses is estimated by leveraging the expected loss framework for mortgages in the case of securities collateralized by 2^nd lien loans and the commercial C&I models for municipal bonds. As part of this framework, internal factors are stressed, as a qualitative adjustment, to reflect current conditions that are not necessarily captured within the historical loss experience. The modeling framework includes a 2 year reasonable and supportable period gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical information at the model input level. Debt securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at fair value. Declines in fair value below the securities’ amortized cost which are not related to estimated credit losses are recorded through other comprehensive income or loss, net of taxes. If the Corporation intends to sell or believes it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the debt security, it is written down to fair value through earnings. Credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses, which will be limited to the difference between the amortized cost and the fair value of the asset. The allowance for credit losses should be established for the expected credit losses over the remaining term of debt security. The Corporation’s portfolio of available-for-sale securities is comprised mainly of U.S. Treasury notes and obligations from the U.S. Government. These securities have an explicit or implicit guarantee from the U.S. government, are highly rated by major rating agencies, and have a long history of no credit losses. Accordingly, the Corporation applies a zero-credit loss assumption and no allowance for credit losses has been established. The Corporation monitors its securities portfolio composition and credit performance on a quarterly basis to determine if any allowance is considered necessary. Debt securities available-for-sale are written-off when a portion or the entire amount is deemed uncollectible, based on the information considered to develop expected credit losses through the life of the asset. Loans Purchased loans with no evidence of credit deterioration since origination are accounted at fair value upon acquisition. Credit discounts are included in the determination of fair value and are amortized over the remaining contractual term using the effective interest method. An allowance for credit losses is recognized as a provision expense for expected losses over the remaining life of the loans. Loans acquired with deteriorated credit quality PCD loans are defined as those with evidence of a more-than-insignificant deterioration in a loan’s credit quality since origination. PCD loans are initially recorded at its purchase price plus an estimated allowance for credit losses. Upon the acquisition of a PCD loan, the Corporation makes an estimate of the expected credit losses over the remaining contractual term of each individual loan. The estimated credit losses over the life of the loan is recorded as an allowance of credit losses with a corresponding addition to the loan purchase price. The amount of the purchase premium or discount which is not related to credit risk is amortized over the life of the loan through net interest income using the effective interest method or a method that approximates the effective interest method. Changes in expected credit losses are recorded as an increase or decrease to the allowance for credit losses with a corresponding charge (reverse) to the provision for credit losses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Refer to Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information with respect to loans acquired with deteriorated credit quality. Allowance for credit losses – loans portfolio The Corporation establishes an allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) for its loan portfolio based on its estimate of credit losses over the remaining contractual term of the loans, adjusted for expected prepayments. An ACL is recognized for all loans including originated and purchased loans, since inception, with a corresponding charge to the provision for loan losses, except for PCD loans for which the ACL at acquisition is recorded as an addition to the purchase price with subsequent changes recorded in earnings. The Corporation has established a methodology to estimate the ACL which includes a reasonable and supportable forecast period for estimating credit losses, considering quantitative and qualitative factors as well as the economic outlook. As part of this methodology management will evaluate various macroeconomic scenarios, provided by third parties, before selecting a single forward-looking scenario for loss estimation. This evaluation may include benchmarking procedures as well as careful analysis of the underlying assumptions used to build the scenarios. The Corporation may process, from time to time additional macroeconomic scenarios as part of its qualitative adjustment framework. The macroeconomic variables chosen to estimate credit losses were selected by combining quantitative procedures with expert judgment. These variables were determined to be the best predictors of expected credit losses within the Corporation’s loan portfolios and include drivers such as; unemployment rate, different measures of employment levels, house prices, gross domestic product and measures of disposable income, amongst others. The loss estimation framework includes a reasonable and supportable period of 2 years for PR portfolios, gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical macroeconomic variables at the model input level. For the US portfolio the reasonable and supportable period considers the contractual life of the asset, impacted by prepayments, except for the US CRE portfolio. The US CRE portfolio utilizes a 2 year reasonable and supportable period gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical information at the output level. The Corporation developed loan level quantitative models distributed by geography and loan type. This segmentation was determined by evaluating their risk characteristics, which include default patterns, source of repayment, type of collateral, and lending channels, amongst others. The modeling framework includes competing risk models to generate lifetime defaults and prepayments, and other loan level modeling techniques to estimate loss severity. Recoveries on future losses are contemplated as part of the loss severity modeling. These parameters are estimated by combining internal risk factors with macroeconomic expectations. In order to generate the expected credit losses, the output of these models is combined with loan level repayment information. The internal risk factors contemplated within the models may include borrowers credit scores, loan-to-value, delinquency status, risk ratings, interest rate, loan term, loan age and type of collateral, amongst others. The allowance for credit losses also includes a qualitative framework that addresses two main components; losses that are expected but not captured within the quantitative modeling framework, and model imprecision. In order to identify potential losses that are not captured through the models, management evaluated model limitations as well as the different risks covered by the variables used in each quantitative model. This assessment took into consideration factors listed as part of ASU 326-20-55-4. To complement the analysis management also evaluated sectors that have low levels of historical defaults, but current conditions show the potential for future losses. This type of qualitative adjustment is more prevalent in the commercial portfolios. The model imprecision component of the qualitative adjustments is determined after evaluating model performance for these portfolios through different time periods. This type of qualitative adjustment mainly impacts consumer portfolios. The Corporation has designated loans classified as collateral dependent for which it applies the practical expedient to measure the ACL based on the fair value of the collateral less cost to sell, when the repayment is expected to be provided substantially by the sale or operation of the collateral and the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty. The fair value of the collateral is based on appraisals, which may be adjusted due to their age, and the type, location, and condition of the property or area or general market conditions to reflect the expected change in value between the effective date of the appraisal and the measurement date. In the case of trouble debt restructurings, the established framework captures the impact of concessions through discounting modified contractual cash flows, both principal and interest, at the loan’s original effective rate. The impact of these concessions is combined with the expected credit losses generated by the quantitative loss models in order to arrive at the allowance for credit losses. As a result, the allowance for credit losses related to TDRs is impacted by the expected macroeconomic conditions. The Credit Cards portfolio, due to its revolving nature, does not have a specified maturity date. To estimate the average remaining term of this segment management evaluated the portfolios payment behavior based on internal historical data. These payment behaviors were further classified into sub-categories that accounted for delinquency history and differences between transactors, revolvers and customers that have exhibited mixed transactor/revolver behavior. Transactors are defined as active accounts without any finance charge in the last 6 months. The paydown curves generated for each sub-category are applied to the outstanding exposure at the measurement date using the first-in first-out (FIFO) methodology. These amortization patterns are combined with loan level default and loss severity modeling to arrive at the allowance for credit losses. Accrued interest receivable The amortized basis for loans and investments in debt securities is presented exclusive of accrued interest receivable. The Corporation has elected not to establish an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest receivable for loans and investments in debt securities, given the Corporation’s non-accrual policies, in which accrual of interest is discontinued and reversed based on the asset’s delinquency status. Refer to Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10k for year ended December 31, 2019 for a description of the Corporation’s nonaccrual policies. Reserve for unfunded commitments The Corporation establishes a reserve for unfunded commitments, based on the estimated losses over the remaining term of the facility, which is based on the maximum repayment term associated with future draws from credit lines. An allowance is not established for commitments that are unconditionally cancellable by the Corporation. Accordingly, no reserve is established for unfunded commitments related to its credit cards portfolio. Reserve for the unfunded portion of credit commitments is presented separately within other liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. Guarantees, including indirect guarantees of indebtedness to others The estimated losses to be absorbed under the credit recourse arrangements are recorded as a liability when the loans are sold and are updated by accruing or reversing expense (categorized in the line item “Adjustments (expense) to indemnity reserves on loans sold” in the consolidated statements of operations) throughout the life of the loan, as necessary, when additional relevant information becomes available. The recourse liability is estimated using loan level statistical techniques. Internal factors that are evaluated include customer credit scores, refreshed loan-to-values, loan age, and outstanding balance, amongst others. The methodology leverages the expected loss framework for mortgage loans and includes macroeconomic expectations based on a 2 year reasonable and supportable period, gradually reverting over a 1-year horizon to historical macroeconomic variables at the input level. Estimated future defaults, prepayments and loss severity are combined with loan level repayment information in order to estimate lifetime expected losses for this portfolio. The reserve for the estimated losses under the credit recourse arrangements is presented separately within other liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition.

Summary of significant accounting policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of significant accounting policies

Note 4 – Summary of significant accounting policies

The accounting and financial reporting policies of Popular, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Corporation”) conform with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and with prevailing practices within the financial services industry. A description of the significant accounting and financial reporting policies can be found on Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

In connection with the implementation of the CECL new accounting standard, the Corporation has made changes to certain of its accounting policies related to its loans portfolio, debt securities portfolio and allowance for credit losses

Investment securities

Debt securities that the Corporation has the intent and ability to hold to maturity are classified as debt securities held-to-maturity and reported at amortized cost. An allowance for credit losses is established for the expected credit losses over the remaining term of debt securities-held-to-maturity. The Corporation has established a methodology to estimate credit losses which considers qualitative factors, including internal credit ratings and the underlying source of repayment in determining the amount of expected credit losses. Debt securities held-to-maturity are written-off through the allowance for credit losses when a portion or the entire amount is deemed uncollectible, based on the information considered to develop expected credit losses through the life of the asset. The allowance for credit losses is estimated by leveraging the expected loss framework for mortgages in the case of securities collateralized by 2^nd lien loans and the commercial C&I models for municipal bonds. As part of this framework, internal factors are stressed, as a qualitative adjustment, to reflect current conditions that are not necessarily captured within the historical loss experience. The modeling framework includes a 2 year reasonable and supportable period gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical information at the model input level.

Debt securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at fair value. Declines in fair value below the securities’ amortized cost which are not related to estimated credit losses are recorded through other comprehensive income or loss, net of taxes. If the Corporation intends to sell or believes it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the debt security, it is written down to fair value through earnings. Credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses, which will be limited to the difference between the amortized cost and the fair value of the asset. The allowance for credit losses should be established for the expected credit losses over the remaining term of debt security. The Corporation’s portfolio of available-for-sale securities is comprised mainly of U.S. Treasury notes and obligations from the U.S. Government. These securities have an explicit or implicit guarantee from the U.S. government, are highly rated by major rating agencies, and have a long history of no credit losses. Accordingly, the Corporation applies a zero-credit loss assumption and no allowance for credit losses has been established. The Corporation monitors its securities portfolio composition and credit performance on a quarterly basis to determine if any allowance is considered necessary. Debt securities available-for-sale are written-off when a portion or the entire amount is deemed uncollectible, based on the information considered to develop expected credit losses through the life of the asset.

Loans

Purchased loans with no evidence of credit deterioration since origination are accounted at fair value upon acquisition. Credit discounts are included in the determination of fair value and are amortized over the remaining contractual term using the effective interest method. An allowance for credit losses is recognized as a provision expense for expected losses over the remaining life of the loans.

Loans acquired with deteriorated credit quality

PCD loans are defined as those with evidence of a more-than-insignificant deterioration in a loan’s credit quality since origination. PCD loans are initially recorded at its purchase price plus an estimated allowance for credit losses. Upon the acquisition of a PCD loan, the Corporation makes an estimate of the expected credit losses over the remaining contractual term of each individual loan. The estimated credit losses over the life of the loan is recorded as an allowance of credit losses with a corresponding addition to the loan purchase price. The amount of the purchase premium or discount which is not related to credit risk is amortized over the life of the loan through net interest income using the effective interest method or a method that approximates the effective interest method.

Changes in expected credit losses are recorded as an increase or decrease to the allowance for credit losses with a corresponding charge (reverse) to the provision for credit losses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

Refer to Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information with respect to loans acquired with deteriorated credit quality.

Allowance for credit losses – loans portfolio

The Corporation establishes an allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) for its loan portfolio based on its estimate of credit losses over the remaining contractual term of the loans, adjusted for expected prepayments. An ACL is recognized for all loans including originated and purchased loans, since inception, with a corresponding charge to the provision for loan losses, except for PCD loans for which the ACL at acquisition is recorded as an addition to the purchase price with subsequent changes recorded in earnings.

The Corporation has established a methodology to estimate the ACL which includes a reasonable and supportable forecast period for estimating credit losses, considering quantitative and qualitative factors as well as the economic outlook. As part of this methodology management will evaluate various macroeconomic scenarios, provided by third parties, before selecting a single forward-looking scenario for loss estimation. This evaluation may include benchmarking procedures as well as careful analysis of the underlying assumptions used to build the scenarios. The Corporation may process, from time to time additional macroeconomic scenarios as part of its qualitative adjustment framework.

The macroeconomic variables chosen to estimate credit losses were selected by combining quantitative procedures with expert judgment. These variables were determined to be the best predictors of expected credit losses within the Corporation’s loan portfolios and include drivers such as; unemployment rate, different measures of employment levels, house prices, gross domestic product and measures of disposable income, amongst others. The loss estimation framework includes a reasonable and supportable period of 2 years for PR portfolios, gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical macroeconomic variables at the model input level. For the US portfolio the reasonable and supportable period considers the contractual life of the asset, impacted by prepayments, except for the US CRE portfolio. The US CRE portfolio utilizes a 2 year reasonable and supportable period gradually reverting, over a 1-year horizon, to historical information at the output level.

The Corporation developed loan level quantitative models distributed by geography and loan type. This segmentation was determined by evaluating their risk characteristics, which include default patterns, source of repayment, type of collateral, and lending channels, amongst others. The modeling framework includes competing risk models to generate lifetime defaults and prepayments, and other loan level modeling techniques to estimate loss severity. Recoveries on future losses are contemplated as part of the loss severity modeling. These parameters are estimated by combining internal risk factors with macroeconomic expectations. In order to generate the expected credit losses, the output of these models is combined with loan level repayment information. The internal risk factors contemplated within the models may include borrowers credit scores, loan-to-value, delinquency status, risk ratings, interest rate, loan term, loan age and type of collateral, amongst others.

The allowance for credit losses also includes a qualitative framework that addresses two main components; losses that are expected but not captured within the quantitative modeling framework, and model imprecision. In order to identify potential losses that are not captured through the models, management evaluated model limitations as well as the different risks covered by the variables used in each quantitative model. This assessment took into consideration factors listed as part of ASU 326-20-55-4. To complement the analysis management also evaluated sectors that have low levels of historical defaults, but current conditions show the potential for future losses. This type of qualitative adjustment is more prevalent in the commercial portfolios. The model imprecision component of the qualitative adjustments is determined after evaluating model performance for these portfolios through different time periods. This type of qualitative adjustment mainly impacts consumer portfolios.

The Corporation has designated loans classified as collateral dependent for which it applies the practical expedient to measure the ACL based on the fair value of the collateral less cost to sell, when the repayment is expected to be provided substantially by the sale or operation of the collateral and the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty. The fair value of the collateral is based on appraisals, which may be adjusted due to their age, and the type, location, and condition of the property or area or general market conditions to reflect the expected change in value between the effective date of the appraisal and the measurement date.

In the case of trouble debt restructurings, the established framework captures the impact of concessions through discounting modified contractual cash flows, both principal and interest, at the loan’s original effective rate. The impact of these concessions is combined with the expected credit losses generated by the quantitative loss models in order to arrive at the allowance for credit losses. As a result, the allowance for credit losses related to TDRs is impacted by the expected macroeconomic conditions.

The Credit Cards portfolio, due to its revolving nature, does not have a specified maturity date. To estimate the average remaining term of this segment management evaluated the portfolios payment behavior based on internal historical data. These payment behaviors were further classified into sub-categories that accounted for delinquency history and differences between transactors, revolvers and customers that have exhibited mixed transactor/revolver behavior. Transactors are defined as active accounts without any finance charge in the last 6 months. The paydown curves generated for each sub-category are applied to the outstanding exposure at the measurement date using the first-in first-out (FIFO) methodology. These amortization patterns are combined with loan level default and loss severity modeling to arrive at the allowance for credit losses.

Accrued interest receivable

The amortized basis for loans and investments in debt securities is presented exclusive of accrued interest receivable. The Corporation has elected not to establish an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest receivable for loans and investments in debt securities, given the Corporation’s non-accrual policies, in which accrual of interest is discontinued and reversed based on the asset’s delinquency status. Refer to Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10k for year ended December 31, 2019 for a description of the Corporation’s nonaccrual policies.

Reserve for unfunded commitments

The Corporation establishes a reserve for unfunded commitments, based on the estimated losses over the remaining term of the facility, which is based on the maximum repayment term associated with future draws from credit lines. An allowance is not established for commitments that are unconditionally cancellable by the Corporation. Accordingly, no reserve is established for unfunded commitments related to its credit cards portfolio. Reserve for the unfunded portion of credit commitments is presented separately within other liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition.

Guarantees, including indirect guarantees of indebtedness to others

The estimated losses to be absorbed under the credit recourse arrangements are recorded as a liability when the loans are sold and are updated by accruing or reversing expense (categorized in the line item “Adjustments (expense) to indemnity reserves on loans sold” in the consolidated statements of operations) throughout the life of the loan, as necessary, when additional relevant information becomes available. The recourse liability is estimated using loan level statistical techniques. Internal factors that are evaluated include customer credit scores, refreshed loan-to-values, loan age, and outstanding balance, amongst others. The methodology leverages the expected loss framework for mortgage loans and includes macroeconomic expectations based on a 2 year reasonable and supportable period, gradually reverting over a 1-year horizon to historical macroeconomic variables at the input level. Estimated future defaults, prepayments and loss severity are combined with loan level repayment information in order to estimate lifetime expected losses for this portfolio. The reserve for the estimated losses under the credit recourse arrangements is presented separately within other liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition.