Variable Interest Entities - Loan Delinquencies and Net Charge-offs (Details 7) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Total assets held by securitization VIEs	$ 351,800,000,000		$ 351,800,000,000		$ 391,100,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Credit exposure / loans securitized	284,548,000,000		284,548,000,000		326,516,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Prime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Credit exposure / loans securitized	123,215,000,000		123,215,000,000		143,764,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Subprime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Credit exposure / loans securitized	37,454,000,000		37,454,000,000		40,721,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Option Arms
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Credit exposure / loans securitized	32,212,000,000		32,212,000,000		35,786,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Commercial Mortgage Backed and Other Securities [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Credit exposure / loans securitized	91,667,000,000		91,667,000,000		106,245,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Assets held in consolidated securitization VIEs	8,000,000,000		8,000,000,000		8,600,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Prime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Assets held in consolidated securitization VIEs	2,100,000,000		2,100,000,000		2,200,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Subprime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Assets held in consolidated securitization VIEs	1,400,000,000		1,400,000,000		1,600,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Option Arms
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Assets held in consolidated securitization VIEs	300,000,000		300,000,000		300,000,000
Prime [Member] | Securitized loans [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
90 days past due	30,029,000,000		30,029,000,000		33,093,000,000
Liquidation Losses	1,567,000,000	1,490,000,000	4,301,000,000	4,875,000,000
Subprime [Member] | Securitized loans [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
90 days past due	14,706,000,000		14,706,000,000		15,456,000,000
Liquidation Losses	718,000,000	749,000,000	2,334,000,000	2,865,000,000
Option Arms | Securitized loans [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
90 days past due	9,851,000,000		9,851,000,000		10,788,000,000
Liquidation Losses	481,000,000	479,000,000	1,389,000,000	1,705,000,000
Commercial Mortgage Backed and Other Securities [Member] | Securitized loans [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
90 days past due	5,028,000,000		5,028,000,000		5,791,000,000
Liquidation Losses	288,000,000	159,000,000	742,000,000	331,000,000
Securitized loans [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
90 days past due	59,614,000,000		59,614,000,000		65,128,000,000
Liquidation Losses	3,054,000,000	2,877,000,000	8,766,000,000	9,776,000,000
Securitized loans in which the firm has no continuing involvement	59,300,000,000		59,300,000,000		56,000,000,000
Prime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Total assets held by securitization VIEs	132,600,000,000		132,600,000,000		153,100,000,000
Subprime [Member]
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Total assets held by securitization VIEs	40,400,000,000		40,400,000,000		44,000,000,000
Option Arms
Information about delinquencies, net charge-offs, and components of off-balance sheet securitized financial assets [Abstract]
Total assets held by securitization VIEs	$ 32,500,000,000		$ 32,500,000,000		$ 36,100,000,000