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Banco Popular was founded in Old San Juan on October 5, 1893, while Puerto Rico was still under Spanish rule. Fifty-two shareholders created Sociedad Anonima de Economias y Prestamos, later known as Banco Popular, with an initial capital of 5,000 Mexican silver pesos. Don Manuel Muñoz Barrios became its first president and manager.

The bank faced a difficult period after the Spanish-American War of 1898, when Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States, and deposits fell by two-thirds. A destructive hurricane followed in 1899. By 1913, deposits had passed $921,000. In 1927, Rafael Carrión Pacheco became the majority shareholder and promoted savings tools, including metal coin banks for customers.

Expansion followed across Puerto Rico and later beyond the island. The first branch outside San Juan opened in 1934, and by 1942, the network had eight offices. In 1937, Banco Popular became Puerto Rico’s largest bank, with $8.82 million in deposits. In 1951, it launched a mobile banking office at Fort Buchanan. In 1961, it opened its first mainland branch in the Bronx, followed by branches at Rockefeller Center and in the Dominican Republic in 1964.

Under Rafael Carrión Jr. and later Richard L. Carrión, the bank grew through services and acquisitions. It added auto lending in 1957, joined Visa in 1975, bought parts of Banco Credito y Ahorro Ponceno in 1978, entered St. Croix in 1981, and Chicago in 1984. The 1990 merger with Banco de Ponce reshaped the market. Later deals included New York Capital Bank, Banco Roig, and Seminole National Bank. At the same time, Popular, Inc. reached $28.1 billion in assets by 2000.