Business Combinations And Dispositions (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended												12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010		Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009		May 20, 2011	Dec. 14, 2010 years	Dec. 31, 2011 Liberty Pointe Bank Acquisition [Member]	Mar. 11, 2010 Liberty Pointe Bank Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Park Avenue Bank Acquisition [Member]	Mar. 12, 2010 Park Avenue Bank Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 State Bancorp Inc [Member]	May 20, 2011 State Bancorp Inc [Member]	Dec. 14, 2010 S&M Klein Co. Inc. [Member]	Nov. 30, 2009 Samuel M. Berman Company, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Total deposits	$ 9,673,102,000					$ 9,363,614,000					$ 9,673,102,000		$ 9,363,614,000										$ 1,400,000,000
Goodwill	317,962,000	[1]				317,891,000	[1]				317,962,000	[1]	317,891,000	[1]	296,424,000	[1]				11,600,000		7,900,000		0
Core deposit intangibles	20,818,000					25,650,000					20,818,000		25,650,000							370,000		1,200,000
Fixed rate cumulative Series A preferred stock redeemed, value																								36,800,000
Assets	14,244,507,000					14,143,826,000					14,244,507,000		14,143,826,000										1,600,000,000
Loans	9,665,839,000					9,241,091,000					9,665,839,000		9,241,091,000										1,100,000,000
Total assets acquired																				207,700,000		480,500,000
Covered loans	271,844,000					356,655,000					271,844,000		356,655,000							140,600,000		271,800,000
Total deposits assumed in FDIC assisted bank acquisitions																				198,300,000		455,900,000
Number of branches																							16
Total estimated consideration for the acquisition																								208,000,000	3,300,000	285,000
Estimated consideration for the acquisition of intangible assets																									3,300,000
Purchase price payable period, years																		4
Percentage of stock dividend payable																	5.00%
Goodwill																									1,900,000	726,000
Other intangible assets																										224,000
FDIC loss share coverage percentage up to first tranche																			80.00%		80.00%
FDIC loss share recovery limit first tranche																			55,000,000		66,000,000
Portion of first loss tranche ineligible for FDIC reimbursement																			11,700,000
FDIC loss share percentage in excess of first tranche																			95.00%		95.00%
First tranche reimbursement percentage from bank to FDIC	80.00%										80.00%
Second tranche reimbursement percentage from bank to FDIC											95.00%
Cash settled equity instrument exercise date																					April 1, 2010
Purchase price of acquisition																									5,300,000	950,000
Total earn-out payments																									2,000,000
Weighted average amortization period, years																									16	7
Notes payable incurred in acquisition																										665,000
Short term loan to acquiree																								37,000,000
Number of common stock issued upon exercise of warrant																							466
Exercise price of warrants																							$ 11.87
Junior Subordinated Notes	20,600,000										20,600,000
Professional and legal fees											15,312,000		10,137,000		7,907,000								1,700,000
Employee benefits expense																							640,000
Non-interest expense	$ 84,377,000		$ 85,302,000	$ 83,080,000	$ 83,829,000	$ 80,408,000		$ 78,947,000	$ 79,973,000	$ 78,354,000	$ 336,588,000		$ 317,682,000		$ 306,028,000								$ 290,000

[1] Valley's Wealth Management Division is comprised of trust, asset management, and insurance services. This reporting unit is included in the Consumer Lending segment for financial reporting purposes.