DIVIDEND AVAILABILITY AND REGULATORY MATTERS (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
DIVIDEND AVAILABILITY AND REGULATORY MATTERS
Period of net earnings considered in declaring dividend without the approval of the DFI	3 years
Dividends received from the Bank	$ 48,000,000
Actual regulatory capital amounts and ratios for the Company and the Bank
Deferred tax asset amounts in excess of calculated limit	3,800,000
Tier I capital (to average assets):
Actual, Amount	718,800,000	570,082,000
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	11.22%	10.53%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	320,405,000	270,694,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	5.00%	5.00%
Excess Capital Amount	398,395,000	299,388,000
Tier I capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Actual, Amount	718,800,000	570,082,000
Ratio (as a percent)	15.12%	15.17%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	285,163,000	225,541,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	6.00%	6.00%
Excess Capital Amount	433,637,000	344,541,000
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Actual, Amount	778,582,000	617,702,000
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	16.38%	16.43%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	475,271,000	375,901,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	10.00%	10.00%
Excess Capital Amount	303,311,000	241,801,000
Trust preferred securities included in tier 1 capital
Trust preferred securities issued	131,000,000
Expected amount of trust preferred securities included in Tier 1 capital	0
Amount of trust preferred securities included in tier 1 capital	131,000,000
Excess consolidated total assets	15,000,000,000
Percentage of trust preferred securities currently outstanding that will be included in Tier 1 capital	25.00%
Number of months for which cumulative net earnings are not sufficient for dividend payments due for those periods, requiring prior notification to FRB	12 months
Minimum
Tier I capital (to average assets):
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	4.00%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	5.00%
Tier I capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Ratio (as a percent)	4.00%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	6.00%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	8.00%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	10.00%
Maximum
Trust preferred securities included in tier 1 capital
Trust preferred securities included in tier 1 capital, expressed as a percentage of the sum of all core capital elements	25.00%
Pacific Western Bank
Actual regulatory capital amounts and ratios for the Company and the Bank
Deferred tax asset amounts in excess of calculated limit	3,300,000
Tier I capital (to average assets):
Actual, Amount	690,440,000	528,151,000
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	10.79%	9.78%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	319,999,000	269,901,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	5.00%	5.00%
Excess Capital Amount	370,441,000	258,250,000
Tier I capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Actual, Amount	690,400,000	528,151,000
Ratio (as a percent)	14.54%	14.10%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	284,825,000	224,778,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	6.00%	6.00%
Excess Capital Amount	405,575,000	303,373,000
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets):
Actual, Amount	750,152,000	575,614,000
Actual, Ratio (as a percent)	15.80%	15.36%
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Amount	474,708,000	374,630,000
Well Capitalized Minimum Requirement, Ratio (as a percent)	10.00%	10.00%
Excess Capital Amount	$ 275,444,000	$ 200,984,000