Allowance for loan losses - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014 Banco Popular North America [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Banco Popular North America [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Non Covered Loans [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Non Covered Loans [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Non Covered Loans [Member] Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Non Covered Loans [Member] Banco Popular De Puerto Rico [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member Non Covered Loans [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member Non Covered Loans [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Portfolio Segment Member Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Commercial Portfolio Segment Member Covered Under Loss Sharing Agreements With F D I C [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Portfolio Segment Member Non Covered Loans [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Commercial Portfolio Segment Member Non Covered Loans [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Construction Legacy Portfolios [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Mortgage Consumer Portfolios [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Commercial Construction Portfolios [Member]	Mar. 31, 2014 Loan Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member	Dec. 31, 2013 Loan Commercial Real Estate Construction Financing Receivable Member	Mar. 31, 2014 Loan Commercial Portfolio Segment Member	Dec. 31, 2013 Loan Commercial Portfolio Segment Member
Financing Receivable, Modifications [Line Items]
Financing Receivable Modifications Recorded Investment					$ 6,419,000	$ 21,448,000	$ 953,745,000	$ 950,337,000			$ 3,232,000	$ 3,464,000	$ 14,684,000	$ 11,290,000	$ 2,645,000	$ 17,406,000	$ 172,224,000	$ 189,602,000
Loans And Leases Receivable Impaired Commitment To Lend																						895,000	0	3,000,000	3,000,000
Credit Card T D R Modification Time Period	24
Recorded Investment Loan Split	1,000,000	1,200,000
Charge Offs Included Recorded Investment Loan Split	0	500,000
Recorded Investment Period End	1,100,000	700,000
Allowance Loans Modified Loan Split	$ 0	$ 21,000
Historical Loss Period																				18-months	3-year
Recent Loss Trend Adjustment																			12-months	6-months
Recent Loss Trend Adjustment Percentage			23.00%	13.00%					34.00%	51.00%