Fair Value Accounting (Financial Instruments Measured At Fair Value On A Recurring Basis) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	$ 11,102		$ 16,866
Investment securities available for sale	2,981,112		3,690,125
Private equity investments	31,876		22,015
Derivative asset positions	64,662		84,923
Salary stock units	1,900
Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0
Investment securities available for sale	3,205
Private equity investments	0
Derivative asset positions	0
Salary stock units	1,888
Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	11,102
Investment securities available for sale	2,974,729
Private equity investments	1,168
Derivative asset positions	64,662
Salary stock units	0
Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0
Investment securities available for sale	3,178
Private equity investments	30,708
Derivative asset positions	0
Salary stock units	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	11,102		16,866
Mortgage loans held for sale	212,663		161,509
Investment securities available for sale	2,981,112		3,690,125
Private equity investments	31,876		22,015
Rabbi Trusts	10,001		10,353
Derivative asset positions	64,662		84,923
Salary stock units	1,888
Derivative liabilities	66,393		96,574
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Mortgage loans held for sale	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	3,205		2,792
Private equity investments	0		0
Rabbi Trusts	10,001		10,353
Derivative asset positions	0		0
Salary stock units	1,888
Derivative liabilities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	11,102		16,866
Mortgage loans held for sale	212,663		161,509
Investment securities available for sale	2,974,729		3,680,491
Private equity investments	1,168		597
Rabbi Trusts	0		0
Derivative asset positions	64,662		83,072
Salary stock units	0
Derivative liabilities	63,437		87,481
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Mortgage loans held for sale	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	3,178		6,842
Private equity investments	30,708		21,418
Rabbi Trusts	0		0
Derivative asset positions	0		1,851
Salary stock units	0
Derivative liabilities	2,956		9,093
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | U.S. Treasury Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			33
Investment securities available for sale	356		426
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | U.S. Treasury Securities [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	356		426
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | U.S. Treasury Securities [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			33
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | U.S. Treasury Securities [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Agencies [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	2,171
Investment securities available for sale	245,593		285,753
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	2,171
Investment securities available for sale	245,593		285,753
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	293,310		675,421
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	293,310		675,421
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	1,867,493		2,002,006
Trading account liabilities	91
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Trading account liabilities	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	1,867,493		2,002,006
Trading account liabilities	91
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage-Backed Securities Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Trading account liabilities	0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Collateralized Mortgage Obligations Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	4,875		4,040
Investment securities available for sale	514,489		651,500
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Collateralized Mortgage Obligations Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Collateralized Mortgage Obligations Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	4,875		4,040
Investment securities available for sale	514,489		651,500
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Collateralized Mortgage Obligations Issued By U.S. Government Sponsored Enterprises [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other U.S. Government Agencies [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	38,046		40,493
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	38,046		40,493
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other U.S. Government Agencies [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities			0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | State And Municipal Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	451		10
Investment securities available for sale	15,798		25,318
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | State And Municipal Securities [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | State And Municipal Securities [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	451		10
Investment securities available for sale	15,798		25,318
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | State And Municipal Securities [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | All Other Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	1,159		11,748
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | All Other Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | All Other Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	1,159		11,748
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | All Other Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity, Mutual Funds, And Other [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	2,446		1,035
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity, Mutual Funds, And Other [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity, Mutual Funds, And Other [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	2,446		1,035
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity, Mutual Funds, And Other [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Trading securities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	3,740		3,759
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity Securities [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	2,849		2,366
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity Securities [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Equity Securities [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	891		1,393
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other Investments [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	2,287	[1]	5,449	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other Investments [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0	[1]	0	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other Investments [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	0	[1]	0	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Other Investments [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	2,287	[1]	5,449	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Contracts [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	61,869		83,072
Derivative liabilities	62,912		85,534
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Contracts [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	0		0
Derivative liabilities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Contracts [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	61,869		83,072
Derivative liabilities	62,912		85,534
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Interest Rate Contracts [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	0		0
Derivative liabilities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage Derivatives [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	2,793		1,851	[2]
Derivative liabilities	525		1,947	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage Derivatives [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	0		0	[2]
Derivative liabilities	0		0	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage Derivatives [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	2,793		0	[2]
Derivative liabilities	525		1,947	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Mortgage Derivatives [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative asset positions	0		1,851	[2]
Derivative liabilities	0		0	[1]
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Visa Derivatives [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative liabilities	2,956		9,093
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Visa Derivatives [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative liabilities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Visa Derivatives [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative liabilities	0		0
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] | Visa Derivatives [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Derivative liabilities	$ 2,956		$ 9,093

[1] Based on an analysis of the nature and risks of these investments, Synovus has determined that presenting these investments as a single asset class is appropriate.

[2] Mortgage derivatives consist of customer interest rate lock commitments that relate to the origination of mortgage loans and forward loan sales commitments with third party investors.