Impairment of investments life to date.

No definition available.

Name:	hfwa_ImpairmentOfInvestmentsLifeToDate
Namespace Prefix:	hfwa_
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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Other than temporary impairment losses investments portion in other comprehensive income loss net of tax portion attributable to parent held to maturity securities life to date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Other than temporary impairment losses investments portion recognized in earnings net held to maturity securities life to date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Held-to-maturity Securities [Roll Forward]

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

private residential collateralized mortgage obligation carrying value

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	hfwa_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This item represents the gain (loss) realized on the sale of held-to-maturity securities disposed of during the period. Additionally, this item may include, if not separately presented, any losses recognized for other than temporary impairments (OTTI) of the subject investments in debt securities which are being or have been recognized in earnings during the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 10

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27724398&loc=d3e27405-111563

+ Details

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- 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

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- Definition

The amount by which the fair value of an investment in debt securities categorized as Held-to-maturity is less than the amortized cost basis or carrying amount of that investment at the balance sheet date and the decline in fair value is deemed to be other than temporary, before considering whether or not such amount is recognized in earnings or other comprehensive income.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 5

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27724398&loc=d3e27232-111563

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount after tax of other than temporary impairment loss (OTTI) on investments in available-for-sale and held-to-maturity debt securities, recognized in other comprehensive loss and attributable to parent entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 35

-Paragraph 34D

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27723805&loc=SL6284304-111560

+ Details

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- Definition

The amount of other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses on equity securities, OTTI related to credit losses on debt securities, and OTTI losses on debt securities when the entity intends to sell the securities or it is more likely than not that the entity will be required to sell the securities before recovery of its amortized cost basis. Additionally, this item includes OTTI losses recognized during the period on investments accounted for under the cost method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 8B

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27724398&loc=SL6284393-111563

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Investment Securities - Impairment Activity on Held to Maturity Securities(Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
private residential collateralized mortgage obligation carrying value					$ 829
Held-to-maturity Securities, Sold Security, Realized Gain (Loss)			$ 125
Schedule of other-than-temporary impairment losses investment securities
Life-to-Date Gross Other-Than-Temporary Impairments, Beginning Balance				$ 2,603
Life-to-Date Gross Other-Than-Temporary Impairments, Ending Balance		$ 2,648		2,603
Life-to-Date Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Other Comprehensive Income, Beginning Balance				1,152
Life-to-Date Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Other Comprehensive Income, Ending Balance		1,152		1,152
Life-to-Date Net Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Earnings, Beginning Balance				1,451
Life-to-Date Net Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Earnings, Subsequent impairments	$ 0	0	$ 0	45
Life-to-Date Net Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Earnings, Ending Balance		$ 1,496		1,496
Subsequent impairments
Schedule of other-than-temporary impairment losses investment securities
Life-to-Date Gross Other-Than-Temporary Impairments, Subsequent impairments				45
Life-to-Date Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Other Comprehensive Income, Subsequent impairments				0
Life-to-Date Net Other-Than-Temporary Impairments Included in Earnings, Subsequent impairments				$ 45