Results of Operations (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	$ 355,719	$ 342,179	$ 702,032	$ 680,777
Provision for loan losses	249,408	119,199	473,264	219,922
Non interest Income	293,363	109,432	327,420	249,358
Amortization of intangibles	2,467	2,531	4,935	5,124
Depreciation expense	12,755	11,526	25,009	23,282
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	25,072	0	25,141
Other operating expenses	294,364	305,437	613,340	604,220
Income tax expense	(237,380)	(77,893)	(294,257)	(61,701)
Net Income	327,468	65,739	207,161	114,147
Assets	36,684,594		36,684,594		36,507,535
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	314,748	298,636	619,776	588,938
Provision for loan losses	255,944	103,690	477,829	189,547
Non interest Income	103,331	84,416	119,708	197,955
Amortization of intangibles	1,787	1,851	3,575	3,764
Depreciation expense	10,306	9,237	20,072	18,624
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	25,072	0	25,141
Other operating expenses	225,726	230,960	475,361	453,317
Income tax expense	(235,766)	(73,724)	(288,631)	(56,371)
Net Income	160,082	85,966	51,278	152,871
Assets	27,698,695		27,698,695
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] | Commercial Banking [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	118,716	109,262	232,519	209,653
Provision for loan losses	(6,161)	42,725	139,612	56,423
Non interest Income	19,743	(2,263)	(45,484)	18,634
Amortization of intangibles	1	1	2	10
Depreciation expense	4,864	4,204	8,840	8,372
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	7,793	0	7,862
Other operating expenses	68,463	74,068	147,296	135,249
Income tax expense	(36,883)	(30,152)	(92,534)	(20,390)
Net Income	108,175	8,360	(16,181)	40,761
Assets	11,796,579		11,796,579
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] | Consumer And Retail Banking [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	193,548	185,944	382,701	372,202
Provision for loan losses	262,105	60,965	338,217	133,124
Non interest Income	56,218	56,113	114,436	122,117
Amortization of intangibles	1,710	1,710	3,419	3,418
Depreciation expense	5,123	4,797	10,614	9,776
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	17,279	0	17,279
Other operating expenses	139,592	139,297	293,877	283,144
Income tax expense	(202,573)	(47,660)	(201,895)	(43,359)
Net Income	43,809	65,669	52,905	90,937
Assets	18,579,730		18,579,730
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] | Other Services [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	2,484	3,430	4,556	7,079
Provision for loan losses	0	0	0	0
Non interest Income	27,389	30,606	50,791	57,270
Amortization of intangibles	76	140	154	336
Depreciation expense	319	236	618	476
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	17,690	17,635	34,223	34,990
Income tax expense	3,690	4,088	5,798	7,376
Net Income	8,098	11,937	14,554	21,171
Assets	778,833		778,833
Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member] | Consolidation Eliminations Member
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	0	0	0	4
Provision for loan losses	0	0	0	0
Non interest Income	(19)	(40)	(35)	(66)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	(19)	(40)	(35)	(66)
Income tax expense	0	0	0	2
Net Income	0	0	0	2
Assets	(3,456,447)		(3,456,447)
Banco Popular North America [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	67,835	69,555	135,853	143,630
Provision for loan losses	(6,556)	15,300	(4,545)	30,026
Non interest Income	12,753	15,250	22,824	30,706
Amortization of intangibles	680	680	1,360	1,360
Depreciation expense	2,287	1,988	4,612	4,017
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	52,498	55,303	107,345	117,185
Income tax expense	936	936	1,872	1,872
Net Income	30,743	10,598	48,033	19,876
Assets	8,800,354	0	8,800,354	0
Banco Popular North America [Member] | Consolidation Eliminations Member
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	0	0	0	0
Provision for loan losses	0	0	0	0
Non interest Income	0	0	0	0
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt		0		0
Other operating expenses	0	0	0	0
Income tax expense	0	0	0	0
Net Income	0	0	0	0
Assets	(1,072,386)	0	(1,072,386)	0
Banco Popular North America [Member] | Popular Community Bank [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	67,088	68,459	134,205	142,066
Provision for loan losses	(11,329)	13,490	(9,047)	22,886
Non interest Income	13,313	14,445	24,522	29,737
Amortization of intangibles	680	680	1,360	1,360
Depreciation expense	2,287	1,988	4,612	4,017
Loss on early extinguishment of debt		0		0
Other operating expenses	51,909	54,523	106,077	115,546
Income tax expense	936	936	1,872	1,872
Net Income	35,918	11,287	53,853	26,122
Assets	9,534,310	0	9,534,310	0
Banco Popular North America [Member] | E Loan Inc [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	747	1,096	1,648	1,564
Provision for loan losses	4,773	1,810	4,502	7,140
Non interest Income	(560)	805	(1,698)	969
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt		0		0
Other operating expenses	589	780	1,268	1,639
Income tax expense	0	0	0	0
Net Income	(5,175)	(689)	(5,820)	(6,246)
Assets	338,430	0	338,430	0
Business Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	0	0	0	0
Provision for loan losses	0	0	0	0
Non interest Income	0	0	0	0
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	0	0	0	0
Income tax expense	0	0	0	0
Net Income	0	0	0	0
Assets	(14,051)		(14,051)
Reportable Segments Member
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	382,583	368,191	755,629	732,568
Provision for loan losses	249,388	118,990	473,284	219,573
Non interest Income	116,084	99,666	142,532	228,661
Amortization of intangibles	2,467	2,531	4,935	5,124
Depreciation expense	12,593	11,225	24,684	22,641
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	25,072	0	25,141
Other operating expenses	278,224	286,263	582,706	570,502
Income tax expense	(234,830)	(72,788)	(286,759)	(54,499)
Net Income	190,825	96,564	99,311	172,747
Assets	36,484,998		36,484,998
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	(26,864)	(26,175)	(53,597)	(52,116)
Provision for loan losses	20	209	(20)	349
Non interest Income	178,614	11,005	186,286	21,990
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	162	301	325	641
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	16,830	19,851	32,002	35,031
Income tax expense	(2,258)	(4,961)	(7,391)	(7,257)
Net Income	136,996	(30,570)	107,773	(58,890)
Assets	5,443,792		5,443,792
Consolidation Eliminations Member
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net interest income	0	163	0	325
Provision for loan losses	0	0	0	0
Non interest Income	(1,335)	(1,239)	(1,398)	(1,293)
Amortization of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Depreciation expense	0	0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	0	0	0	0
Other operating expenses	(690)	(677)	(1,368)	(1,313)
Income tax expense	(292)	(144)	(107)	55
Net Income	(353)	(255)	77	290
Assets	$ (5,244,196)		$ (5,244,196)