Summary of Ownership Interests in Investments Held Under Fair Value Accounting (Parenthetical) (Detail) (Partners for Growth, LP, Fair value accounting, Consolidated Debt Fund)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	50.00%	[1]
Lower Limit
Schedule of Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	50.00%

[1] The general partner of Partners for Growth, LP, Partners for Growth, LLC, is not owned or controlled by SVB Financial. The limited partners of this fund have substantive kick-out rights by which the general partner may be removed without cause by a simple majority vote of the limited partners. SVB Financial has an ownership interest of slightly more than 50.0 percent in Partners for Growth, LP. Accordingly, the fund is consolidated and any gains or losses resulting from changes in the estimated fair value of the investments are recorded as investment gains or losses in our consolidated net income.