Capital Capital - Additional Information (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Debt Obligations [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Series C Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Sep. 30, 2006 Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series B Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Series B Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series E Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Stock [Member] Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Stock [Member] Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Retained Earnings [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Retained Earnings [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Retained Earnings [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Retained Earnings [Member] Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Retained Earnings [Member] Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Retained Earnings [Member] Series C and Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Sun Trust Bank [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Sun Trust Bank [Member]	Sep. 22, 2011 Group 1 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Group 2 [Member]	Sep. 22, 2011 Group 2 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Group 2 [Member] Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Sep. 22, 2011 Warrant [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Long-term Debt [Member]
Schedule of Capitalization, Equity [Line Items]
Dividends Per Common Share, Primary Regulator Does Not Object					$ 0.05
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.20	$ 0.12	$ 0.04
Payments for Repurchase of Trust Preferred Securities					$ 1,200,000,000
Junior Subordinated Debenture Owed to Unconsolidated Subsidiary Trust																																			627,000,000
Stock Issued During Period, Value, New Issues						1,000,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage								3.60%
Debt Instrument Maturity Year						2016
Stock Redeemed or Called During Period, Value									3,500,000,000	4,850,000,000									1,400,000,000	4,776,000,000					0	74,000,000	0
Preferred Stock, Accretion of Redemption Discount						0	0			74,000,000										(6,000,000)	(25,000,000)					6,000,000	25,000,000
Retained Earnings, Unappropriated																												1,800,000,000	0
Cash Reserve Deposit Required and Made	1,900,000,000				1,900,000,000	1,700,000,000
Preferred Stock, Shares Issued															5,000		1,025	4,500
Preferred Stock, No Par Value															$ 0		$ 0	$ 0
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference Per Share															$ 100,000		$ 100,000	$ 100,000
Preferred stock dividends, variable rate basis, three month LIBOR											three-month LIBOR
Declared And Accrued Preferred Stock Dividend Basis Spread on Variable Rate											0.53%					0.65%
Declared And Accrued Preferred Stock Dividend Fixed Rate											4.00%					4.00%		5.875%
Stock Redeemed or Called During Period, Shares														3,275
Preferred Stock, Redemption Price Per Share															$ 100,000		$ 100,000	$ 100,000
Preferred Stock, Shares Authorized	50,000,000				50,000,000	50,000,000											5,010	5,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Outstanding																																		17,900,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights																														11,900,000		6,000,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights																														44.15		33.70
warrants purchased																															4,000,000
Payments for Repurchase of Warrants					0	11,000,000	0																										11,000,000
Dividend Per Quarter Threshold Prior To Tenth Anniversay Triggering Execise Of Warrants	$ 0.54				$ 0.54
Dividends, Preferred Stock, Cash					12,000,000	7,000,000	7,000,000															12,000,000	7,000,000	7,000,000
Dividends, Preferred Stock						67,000,000	239,000,000
Preferred Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Cash Paid											$ 4,067	$ 4,056	$ 4,056			$ 4,027
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash					$ 107,000,000	$ 64,000,000	$ 20,000,000															$ 107,000,000	$ 64,000,000	$ 20,000,000
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Cash Paid					$ 0.20	$ 0.12	$ 0.04