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Employee Benefit Plans - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)
$ in Millions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Dec. 31, 2014
Dec. 31, 2013
Jan. 29, 2015
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Accumulated benefit obligation for all defined benefit plans $ 5,200 $ 5,400    
Shares of stock owned by Employee Stock Ownership Plan 6,000,000 6,400,000    
Fair value of shares total ESOP assets $ 251 $ 263    
Recognized cost of defined contribution plans, excluding the ESOP $ 209 $ 198 $ 192  
Domestic Healthcare Benefits        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Discount rate (percent) 4.48% 4.13%    
Plan assets, at fair value $ 92 $ 93 86  
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate used in determining benefit expense for 2015 (percent) 6.50%      
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate used in determining benefit expense for 2022 (percent) 4.75%      
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) $ 12      
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate, percentage increase (percent) 6.00%      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) $ 1      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate, percentage increase (percent) 7.00%      
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) $ 10      
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate, percentage decrease (percent) 6.00%      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) $ 1      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate, percentage decrease (percent) 6.00%      
Cash contributions expected to be made to fund defined benefit plans in the next fiscal year $ 14      
Foreign Healthcare Benefits        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Discount rate (percent) 3.60% 3.10%    
Plan assets, at fair value $ 0 $ 0 0  
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) 1      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of an increase of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) 1      
Change in the post-retirement benefit obligation as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) 1      
Change in the post-retirement service cost plus interest cost as a result of a decrease of one percentage point in the assumed medical trend rate (less than one million) 1      
Cash contributions expected to be made to fund defined benefit plans in the next fiscal year $ 1      
Domestic Pension Benefits        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Discount rate (percent) 4.48% 4.13%   3.73%
Plan assets, at fair value $ 4,689 $ 4,942 4,721 $ 4,713
Cash contributions expected to be made to fund defined benefit plans in the next fiscal year $ 22      
Domestic Pension Benefits | Equity securities        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, lower limit (percent) 30.00%      
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, upper limit (percent) 70.00%      
Domestic Pension Benefits | Fixed income        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, lower limit (percent) 20.00%      
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, upper limit (percent) 50.00%      
Domestic Pension Benefits | Cash and Cash Equivalents        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, lower limit (percent) 0.00%      
Percentage of plan asset, cash equivalents, upper limit (percent) 5.00%      
Foreign Pension Benefits        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
Discount rate (percent) 3.45% 3.33%    
Plan assets, at fair value $ 1,014 $ 997 $ 930  
Cash contributions expected to be made to fund defined benefit plans in the next fiscal year $ 22      
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation 401(k) Savings Plan        
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]        
401(k) Employer matching contribution, percent match, first 4% 100.00%      
401(k) Employer matching contribution, percent match, remaining 2% 50.00%      
401(k) Employer matching contribution (percent) 5.00% 5.00% 5.00%  
401(k), Employer non-elective contribution based on earnings (percent) 2.00%      
401(k), shares of common stock owned 15,600,000.0 16,700,000.0    
401(k), fair value of total assets $ 5,200 $ 5,300