Long-term Debt and Short-term Borrowings (Schedule of Long-term Debt Instruments) (Details) (USD $)																		12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Loans Receivable [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Securities Investment [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Parent Company [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Parent Company [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Parent Company [Member] 4.875% Subordinated Notes due February 15, 2013 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Parent Company [Member] 4.875% Subordinated Notes due February 15, 2013 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Parent Company [Member] 5.125% Subordinated Notes due June 15, 2017 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Parent Company [Member] 5.125% Subordinated Notes due June 15, 2017 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Parent Company [Member] 13.00% Junior Subordinated Amortizing Notes with Quarterly Interest and Principal Payments through May 15, 2013 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Parent Company [Member] 13.00% Junior Subordinated Amortizing Notes with Quarterly Interest and Principal Payments through May 15, 2013 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Parent Company [Member] LIBOR Plus 1.80% debentures, due April 19, 2035 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Parent Company [Member] LIBOR Plus 1.80% debentures, due April 19, 2035 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Subsidiaries [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Subsidiaries [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Subsidiaries [Member] FHLB Advances [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Subsidiaries [Member] FHLB Advances [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Subsidiaries [Member] Other Notes Payable and Capital Leases [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Subsidiaries [Member] Other Notes Payable and Capital Leases [Member]	Feb. 13, 2012 Issuance of Debt [Member] 7.875% Senior Notes due February 15, 2019 [Member]	Feb. 21, 2012 Tender Offer [Member] 4.875% Subordinated Notes due February 15, 2013 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Subordinated notes										$ 206,750,000	[1]	$ 206,750,000	[1]	$ 450,000,000	$ 450,000,000
Junior subordinated notes																38,229,000	59,931,000
Unsecured Debt																		10,000,000	10,000,000
Hedge-related basis adjustments						21,188,000	[2]	28,102,000	[2]
FHLB advances with interest and principal payments due at various maturity dates through 2018																						633,839,000	1,047,479,000
Other notes payable and capital leases with interest and principal payments due at various maturity dates through 2031																								4,721,000	5,899,000
Long-term debt	1,364,727,000	1,808,161,000				726,167,000		754,783,000												638,560,000	1,053,378,000
Stated percentage										4.875%		4.875%		5.125%	5.125%	13.00%	13.00%									7.875%
Description of variable rate basis																		LIBOR	LIBOR
Basis spread on variable rate																		1.80%	1.80%
Interest rate at period end	0.24%	0.30%	0.53%															2.35%
Stated percentage rate range, minimum																						0.35%
Stated percentage rate range, maximum																						4.70%
Weighted average interest rate																						1.05%		3.89%
Aggregate principal amount																										300,000,000
Proceeds from public offering, net of discount and debt issuance costs																										292,800,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount																											145,600,000
Early Repayment of Subordinated Debt																											145,600,000
Tender Offer, Tender Amount per $1,000 Principal Amount, After Early Tender Deadline																											970
Federal Home Loan Bank, Advances, General Debt Obligations, Disclosures, Collateral Pledged				$ 3,800,000,000	$ 10,400,000

[1] On February 13, 2012, Synovus issued $300 million aggregate principal amount of 7.875% senior notes due February 15, 2019 (“the 2019 Senior Notes”) in a public offering for aggregate proceeds of $292.8 million, net of discount and debt issuance costs. Concurrent with this offering, Synovus announced a cash tender offer (“Tender Offer”) for any and all of its outstanding 4.875% subordinated notes due February 15, 2013 (“the 2013 Notes”), with a total principal amount outstanding of approximately $206.8 million. Approximately $145.6 million of the 2013 Notes were tendered by the early tender deadline of February 21, 2012 (“the Early Tender Deadline”), and Synovus paid total consideration of $145.6 million for these notes. Holders of the 2013 notes who did not tender by the Early Tender Deadline have until March 6, 2012 to tender their 2013 Notes. Holders who tender their 2013 Notes after February 21, 2012 but at or before March 6, 2012 will receive $970 per $1,000 principal amount of the 2013 Notes tendered. The Tender Offer was, and additional tenders will be, funded from a portion of the net proceeds of the 2019 Senior Notes described herein.

[2] Unamortized balance of terminated interest rate swaps reflected in debt for financial reporting purposes.