Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 03, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	fbp
Entity Registrant Name	FIRST BANCORP /PR/
Entity Central Index Key	0001057706
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		217,509,055
Entity current reporting status	Yes
Entity well known seasoned issuer	No
Entity public float			$ 501,752,414
Entity voluntary filers	No