STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	12 Months Ended
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	Dec. 31, 2018
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY [Text Block]	NOTE 22 – STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Common Stock As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Corporation had 2,000,000,000 authorized shares of common stock with a par value of $0.10 per share. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, there were 221,789,509 and 220,382,343 shares issued, respectively, and 217,235,140 and 216,278,040, shares outstanding, respectively. Refer to Note 21 – Stock-Based Compensation, for information about transactions related to common stock under the Omnibus Plan. On November 14, 2018, for the first time since June 2009, the Corporation’s Board of Directors, after receiving regulatory approval, declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per common share which was paid on December 14, 2018, to common stockholders of record on November 30, 2018. Total cash dividends paid on shares of common stock amounted to $6.5 million for 2018. The Corporation has received regulatory approval to pay quarterly dividends on common stock through December 2019, subject to conditions established in the agreement with regulators. The Corporation intends to request approval in future periods to continue quarterly dividend payments on common stock. On May 17, 2018, the U.S. Treasury exercised its warrant to purchase 1,285,899 shares of the Corporation’s stock on a cashless basis resulting in the issuance of 730,571 shares of common stock and the use of 555,328 shares to cover the strike price of the transaction. Cash paid in lieu of fractional shares was $6.58. On May 10, 2017, the U.S. Treasury announced that it sold all of its remaining 10,291,553 shares of the Corporation’s common stock. Since the U.S. Treasury did not recover the full amount of its original investment under TARP, 2,370,571 outstanding restricted shares held by the Corporation’s employees were forfeited, resulting in a reduction in the number of common shares outstanding. On February 7, 2017, funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”) and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management (“Oaktree”) sold 20 million shares (10 million shares each) of the Corporation’s common stock. Subsequently, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 3 million shares of the Corporation’s common stock from the selling stockholders. Also, on August 3, 2017, THL and Oaktree participated in another secondary offering of the Corporation’s common stock in which they sold an aggregate of 20 million shares (10 million shares each) of common stock. The Corporation did not receive any proceeds from these offerings. As of December 31, 2018, each of THL and Oaktree owned less than 5% of the Corporation’s common stock. Preferred Stock The Corporation has 50,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock with a par value of $1.00, redeemable at the Corporation’s option, subject to certain terms. This stock may be issued in series and the shares of each series have such rights and preferences as are fixed by the Board of Directors when authorizing the issuance of that particular series. As of December 31, 2018, the Corporation has five outstanding series of non-convertible, non-cumulative preferred stock: 7.125% non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, Series A; 8.35% non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, Series B; 7.40% non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, Series C; 7.25% non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, Series D; and 7.00% non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, Series E. The liquidation value per share is $25. Effective January 17, 2012, the Corporation delisted all of its outstanding series of non-convertible, non-cumulative preferred stock from the New York Stock Exchange. The Corporation has not arranged for listing and/or registration on another national securities exchange or for quotation of the Series A through E Preferred Stock in a quotation medium. In December 2016, for the first time since July 2009, the Corporation paid dividends on its non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock, after receiving regulatory approval. Since then, the Corporation has continued to pay monthly dividend payments on the non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock. The Corporation has received regulatory approval to pay the monthly dividends on the Corporation’s Series A through E Preferred Stock through December 2019, subject to conditions established in the agreement with regulators. The Corporation intends to request approval in future periods to continue monthly dividend payments on the non-cumulative perpetual monthly income preferred stock. On October 3, 2017, the Federal Reserve terminated the Written Agreement entered into on June 3, 2010 by the Corporation and the Federal Reserve. However, the Corporation has agreed with its regulators to continue to obtain approval before paying dividends, receiving dividends from the Bank, making payments on subordinated debt or trust preferred securities, incurring or guaranteeing debt or purchasing or redeeming any corporate stock. Treasury stock During 2018 and 2017, the Corporation withheld an aggregate of 434,066 shares and 438,891 shares, respectively, of the common stock paid to certain senior officers as additional compensation and restricted stock that vested during 2018 and 2017 to cover employees’ payroll and income tax withholding liabilities; these shares are held as treasury stock. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Corporation had 4,554,369 and 4,104,303 shares held as treasury stock, respectively. FirstBank Statutory Reserve (Legal Surplus) The Banking Law of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico requires that a minimum of 10% of FirstBank’s net income for the year be transferred to a legal surplus reserve until such surplus equals the total of paid-in capital on common and preferred stock. Amounts transferred to the legal surplus reserve from the retained earnings account are not available for distribution to the Corporation, including for payment as dividends to the stockholders, without the prior consent of the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Financial Institutions. The Puerto Rico Banking Law provides that, when the expenditures of a Puerto Rico commercial bank are greater than receipts, the excess of the expenditures over receipts must be charged against the undistributed profits of the bank, and the balance, if any, must be charged against the legal surplus reserve, as a reduction thereof. If there is no legal surplus reserve sufficient to cover such balance in whole or in part, the outstanding amount must be charged against the capital account and the Bank cannot pay dividends until it can replenish the legal surplus reserve to an amount of at least 20% of the original capital contributed. During 2018 and 2017, $20.5 million and $7.3 million, respectively, were transferred to the legal surplus reserve. FirstBank’s legal surplus reserve, included as part of retained earnings in the Corporation’s consolidated statement of financial condition, amounted to $80.2 million and $59.7 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.