BORROWINGS, SUBORDINATED DEBENTURES AND BROKERED DEPOSITS (Details) (USD $)	6 Months Ended				1 Months Ended										6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013 First California Financial Group	May 31, 2013 First California Financial Group	Mar. 31, 2012 FHLB advances	Jun. 30, 2013 FHLB advances	Dec. 31, 2012 FHLB advances	Jun. 30, 2013 FHLB 3.16% December 11, 2017	Mar. 31, 2012 FHLB 3.16% December 11, 2017	Jun. 30, 2013 FHLB 2.61% January 11, 2018	Mar. 31, 2012 FHLB 2.61% January 11, 2018	Jun. 30, 2013 FHLB secured lines of credit	Jun. 30, 2013 Federal Reserve discount window	Jun. 30, 2013 Unsecured lines of credit	Jun. 30, 2013 Non-recourse notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Non-recourse notes	Jun. 30, 2013 Subordinated debentures	Mar. 31, 2012 Trust I and Trust CI	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust CI	Mar. 31, 2012 Trust CI	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust V	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust V	Jan. 28, 2013 Trust V	Dec. 31, 2012 Trust V	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust VI	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust VI	Jan. 28, 2013 Trust VI	Dec. 31, 2012 Trust VI	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust CII	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust CII	Jan. 28, 2013 Trust CII	Dec. 31, 2012 Trust CII	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust VII	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust VII	Jan. 28, 2013 Trust VII	Dec. 31, 2012 Trust VII	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust CIII	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust CIII	Jan. 28, 2013 Trust CIII	Dec. 31, 2012 Trust CIII	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust FCCI	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust FCCI	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust FCBI	Jul. 26, 2013 Trust FCBI	Jun. 30, 2013 Trust I	Mar. 31, 2012 Trust I	Jun. 30, 2013 Bank Federal Reserve discount window
Borrowings, subordinated debentures and brokered deposits
Non-recourse debt															$ 9,696,000	$ 12,591,000
Weighted average interest rate on non-recourse debt (as a percent)															6.30%	6.28%
Weighted average remaining maturity of non-recourse debt															2 years 2 months 12 days
Outstanding FHLB advances						0	0
Remaining borrowing capacity												1,400,000,000
Carrying value of securities pledged	208,200,000					12,800,000
Borrowing capacity													489,900,000	80,000,000																																	612,200,000
Gross subordinated debentures	135,055,000	108,250,000																			10,310,000			10,310,000	10,310,000			10,310,000	5,155,000			5,155,000	61,856,000			61,856,000	20,619,000			20,619,000	16,495,000		10,310,000
Unamortized discount	(2,697,000)		(2,700,000)
Net subordinated debentures	132,358,000	108,250,000	24,100,000	24,061,000
Current Rate (as a percent)																						3.37%	3.41%			3.32%	3.36%			3.22%	3.26%			3.02%	3.05%			1.96%	2.00%			1.87%		1.82%
Rate Index																					3 month LIBOR				3 month LIBOR				3 month LIBOR				3 month LIBOR				3 month LIBOR				3 month LIBOR		3 month LIBOR
Spread on variable rate (as a percent)																					3.10%				3.05%				2.95%				2.75%				1.69%				1.60%		1.55%
Maturity period of debt from the date of issue																	30 years
Amount of trust preferred securities issued	131,000,000
Number of months for which cumulative and among other requirements net earnings are not sufficient for dividend payments due for those periods, requiring prior notification to FRB																	12 months
Fixed interest rates (as a percent)								3.16%		2.61%									11.00%																										10.60%
Debt termination expense related to prepayment of debt					22,600,000
Redemption of debt					225,000,000				200,000,000		25,000,000							18,600,000		10,300,000																										8,300,000
Brokered Deposits
Amount of customer deposits that were participated with other FDIC-insured financial institutions through the CDARS program as a means to provide FDIC deposit insurance coverage for the full amount of the entity's customer deposits	54,000,000	37,700,000
Noninterest-bearing brokered deposits amount included in liabilities of entity's discontinued operations	93,200,000
Prepayment penalties																	$ 0