Guarantees - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)									3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended						3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013 Parent Company [Member] Debt Securities Payable Member	Dec. 31, 2012 Parent Company [Member] Debt Securities Payable Member	Jun. 30, 2013 Loans With Recourse [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Loans With Recourse [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Loans With Recourse [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Loans With Recourse [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Loans With Recourse [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Loans With Recourse [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Puerto Rico Banking Subsidiaries Loans Serviced Under Representation Warranties [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Puerto Rico Banking Subsidiaries Loans Serviced Under Representation Warranties [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Puerto Rico Banking Subsidiaries Loans Serviced Under Representation Warranties [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans [Member] Puerto Rico Banking Subsidiaries Loans Serviced Under Representation Warranties [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Serviced Mortgage Loans For Which Loan Originator Discharged From Repurchae Obligation And Claim [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Serviced Mortgage Loans For Which Loan Originator Discharged From Repurchae Obligation And Claim [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Financial Standby Letter Of Credit Member	Dec. 31, 2012 Financial Standby Letter Of Credit Member	Jun. 30, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnification Guarantee Member E Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] Sale Non Performing Loans [Member]	Mar. 31, 2013 Indemnification Guarantee Member Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] Sale Non Performing Loans [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Guarantee Type, Other [Member] Parent Company [Member] Underlying Other Member	Dec. 31, 2012 Guarantee Type, Other [Member] Parent Company [Member] Underlying Other Member	Jun. 30, 2013 Financial Guarantee Member	Jun. 30, 2012 Financial Guarantee Member	Jun. 30, 2013 Financial Guarantee Member	Jun. 30, 2012 Financial Guarantee Member	Mar. 31, 2013 Financial Guarantee Member	Dec. 31, 2012 Financial Guarantee Member	Mar. 31, 2012 Financial Guarantee Member	Dec. 31, 2011 Financial Guarantee Member
Guarantor Obligations [Line Items]
Guarantees, unamortized balance of the obligations			$ 500,000,000	$ 500,000,000															$ 800,000	$ 600,000																			$ 1,400,000,000	$ 1,400,000,000
Unpaid Principal Balance F D I C Agreement																	2,700,000,000	2,900,000,000
Repurchased Loans									36,000,000	32,000,000	66,000,000	82,000,000	1,000,000	2,100,000	3,000,000	2,500,000
Valuation Allowances And Reserves Balance																	7,200,000	7,600,000			8,760,000	10,131,000	8,760,000	10,131,000	8,852,000	7,740,000	10,625,000	10,625,000	20,959,000	8,179,000	20,959,000	8,179,000	17,603,000	7,587,000	8,562,000	8,522,000					45,892,000	55,783,000	45,892,000	55,783,000	47,983,000	51,673,000	56,115,000	58,659,000
Funds Advanced To Investors Under Servicing Agreements	30,000,000	19,000,000
Qualitative And Quantitative Information Assets Or Liabilities For Transferors Continuing Involvement In Securitization Or Assetbacked Financing Arrangement Principal Amounts Outstanding					2,700,000,000	2,900,000,000	16,600,000,000	16,700,000,000
Losses Recorded From Reps Warrants Repurchases													100,000	400,000	500,000	500,000
Maximum Amount Of Future Payments Under Gurantee																																					16,300,000	18,000,000
Guarantee Obligations Term																																					one year	one year
Valuation Allowances And Reserves Charged To Other Accounts																					$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0					$ 3,047,000	$ 0	$ 13,747,000	$ 0					$ 3,000,000	$ 10,700,000			$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0