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
