Stockholders' equity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
Stockholders Equity Note [Line Items]
Puerto Rico Laws Restrictions On Banks Net Income		a minimum of 10% of BPPR’s net income
Equity Restrictions	$ 445,000,000	$ 445,000,000		$ 445,000,000
Transfers To Statutory Reserve		0	0
Investment Warrants	$ 67
Payments For Repurchase Of Warrants	$ 3,000,000
Warrant Expiration Term	10 years 0 months 0 days
Warrant [Member]
Stockholders Equity Note [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	2,093,284