Segment reporting - Selected Balance Sheet information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018
Segment Reporting Information
Total assets	$ 52,480,415	$ 47,604,577	$ 47,919,428
Deposits	44,166,195	39,710,039
PUERTO RICO
Segment Reporting Information
Total assets	40,883,975	36,863,930
Loans	18,752,442	18,837,742
Deposits	35,110,213	31,237,529
UNITED STATES
Segment Reporting Information
Total assets	10,716,967	9,847,944
Loans	7,649,658	7,034,075
Deposits	7,676,409	6,878,599
Other
Segment Reporting Information
Total assets	879,473	892,703
Loans	662,245	687,494
Deposits	$ 1,379,573	$ 1,593,911

Reflects the aggregate carrying amount of all categories of loans and leases held for sale and held in portfolio, net of unearned income.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	bpop_LoansAndLeasesReceivableHeldForSaleAndHeldInPortfolioNetOfUnearnedIncome
Namespace Prefix:	bpop_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03(11))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115929826&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(12))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Assets
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The aggregate of all deposit liabilities held by the entity, including foreign and domestic, interest and noninterest bearing; may include demand deposits, saving deposits, Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) and time deposits among others.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_Deposits
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SegmentReportingInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_PR
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_US
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_StatementGeographicalAxis=bpop_OtherCountriesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: