LOANS - Aggregate Positions in Capital Structure of Borrowers (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Corporate debt	$ 1,802,607	$ 1,887,182
First lien loans
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Corporate debt	1,232,524	1,346,356
Second lien loans
Schedule of Held-to-maturity Securities [Line Items]
Corporate debt	$ 570,083	$ 540,826

For an unclassified balance sheet, this item represents firm holdings in fixed income or other debt securities issued by a corporation or other issuer not elsewhere specified in the taxonomy, which are categorized as held-to-maturity. The held-to-maturity category is for those securities that the entity has the positive intent and ability to hold until maturity.

No definition available.

Name:	nly_HeldToMaturitySecuritiesCorporateDebt
Namespace Prefix:	nly_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant