1
CERTIFICATION
EXHIBIT
31.1
I, Ignacio Alvarez, certify
that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q of Popular,
Inc.;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
statements
were
made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this
report;
4. The
registrant's other
certifying
officer and
I are
responsible for
establishing
and maintaining disclosure
controls
and
procedures
(as
defined
in
Exchange
Act
Rules
13a-15(e)
and
15d-15(e))
and
internal
control
over
financial
reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and
15d-15(f)) for the registrant and
have:
a)
Designed such disclosure
controls
and procedures, or caused
such disclosure controls and
procedures
to be
designed under
our
supervision,
to ensure
that material
information
relating
to the
registrant, including
its
consolidated
subsidiaries,
is
made
known
to
us
by
others
within
those
entities,
particularly
during
the
period in which this report is being
prepared;
b)
Designed
such
internal
control
over
financial
reporting,
or
caused
such
internal
control
over
financial
reporting to be
designed under our
supervision,
to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of
financial
reporting
and
the
preparation
of
financial
statements
for
external
purposes
in
accordance
with
generally accepted accounting
principles;
c)
Evaluated
the
effectiveness
of
the
registrant's
disclosure
controls
and
procedures
and
presented
in
this
report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d)
Disclosed in this report any
change
in the registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during
the
registrant’s
most
recent
fiscal
quarter
(the
registrant’s
fourth
fiscal
quarter
in
the
case
of
an
annual
report)
that
has
materially
affected,
or
is
reasonably
likely
to
materially
affect,
the
registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting;
and
5.
The
registrant's
other
certifying
officer
and
I
have
disclosed,
based
on
our
most
recent
evaluation
of
internal
control
over
financial
reporting,
to
the
registrant's
auditors
and
the
audit
committee
of
the
registrant's
board
of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a)
All
significant
deficiencies
and
material
weaknesses
in
the
design
or
operation
of
internal
control
over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely
to
adversely affect the registrant’s
ability to record, process,
summarize and report financial information;
and
b)
Any
fraud,
whether or
not material,
that
involves
management or
other employees
who
have
a significant
role in the registrant's internal controls over financial
reporting.
By: /s/ Ignacio Alvarez
Ignacio
Alvarez
Chief Executive Officer