1
CERTIFICATION
EXHIBIT
31.2
I, Carlos J. Vázquez, certify
that:
1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of
Popular,
Inc.;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the
statements made, in light of the circumstances under
which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this
report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial
information included in this report, fairly
present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and
cash flows of the registrant as of, and
for, the periods presented in this
report;
4. The
registrant's
other
certifying officer
and I are
responsible
for
establishing and
maintaining disclosure
controls and
procedures (as defined
in Exchange Act
Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e))
and internal control over
financial reporting (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a)
Designed
such
disclosure
controls
and
procedures,
or
caused
such
disclosure
controls
and
procedures
to
be
designed
under
our
supervision,
to
ensure
that
material
information
relating
to
the
registrant,
including
its
consolidated subsidiaries,
is made
known
to us by
others within those
entities,
particularly
during the period
in
which this report is being prepared;
b)
Designed
such
internal control over
financial reporting, or
caused such
internal
control over financial
reporting
to
be
designed
under
our
supervision,
to
provide
reasonable
assurance
regarding
the
reliability
of
financial
reporting
and
the
preparation
of
financial
statements
for
external
purposes
in
accordance
with
generally
accepted accounting principles;
c)
Evaluated
the
effectiveness
of
the
registrant's
disclosure
controls
and
procedures
and
presented
in
this
report
our
conclusions
about
the effectiveness
of
the
disclosure
controls
and procedures,
as
of
the
end of
the period
covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d)
Disclosed
in
this
report
any
change
in
the
registrant’s
internal
control
over
financial
reporting
that
occurred
during
the
registrant’s
most recent
fiscal
quarter
(the registrant’s
fourth fiscal
quarter
in
the case
of an
annual
report) that
has
materially
affected, or
is reasonably
likely
to
materially affect,
the registrant’s
internal control
over financial reporting; and
5.
The
registrant's other
certifying officer
and
I
have disclosed,
based on
our
most
recent evaluation
of internal
control
over
financial
reporting,
to
the
registrant's
auditors
and
the
audit
committee
of
the
registrant's
board
of
directors
(or
persons performing the equivalent functions):
a)
All significant deficiencies
and
material weaknesses in the design
or operation of internal control
over
financial
reporting which
are
reasonably
likely to
adversely affect
the
registrant’s
ability to
record, process,
summarize
and report financial information;
and
b)
Any
fraud,
whether or
not material,
that
involves
management or
other employees
who
have
a significant
role
in
the registrant's internal controls over financial reporting.
By: /s/ Carlos J. Vázquez
Carlos J. Vázquez
Chief
Financial Officer