Notes payable (Parenthetical) (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Interest Rate Range From	0.32%	0.31%
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Interest Rate Range To	0.44%	0.31%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage	16.00%	16.00%
Debt Instrument Interest U S Treasury Note Rate	1.76%	1.88%
Fixed Rate 063 To 495 Percent Advances Due 2013 To 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Due Date Earliest	2013	2011
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Due Date Last	2021	2014
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Interest Rate Range From	0.63%	0.66%
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances General Debt Obligations Disclosures Interest Rate Range To	4.95%	4.95%
Fixed Rate 525 To 786 Percent Term Notes Due 2013 To 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notes payable, interest rate range minimum	5.25%	5.25%
Notes payable, interest rate range maximum	7.86%	7.86%
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range Start	2013	2013
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range End	2016	2016
Floating Rate 300 Percent Term Notes Due 2013 To 2014 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instruments Maturity Date	paying interest monthly at a floating rate of 3.00% over the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rate
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range Start	2013	2011
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range End	2014	2013
Fixed Rate 6125 To 8327 Percent Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures Due 2027 To 2034 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notes payable, interest rate range minimum	6.125%	6.125%
Notes payable, interest rate range maximum	8.327%	8.327%
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range Start	2027	2027
Notes Payable Maturity Date Range End	2034	2034
Fixed Rate 500 Percent Until December 2013 And 900 Percent Thereafter Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures With No Stated Maturity [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notes payable, gross	936,000	936,000
Notes payable, maturities	no stated maturity	no stated maturity
Notes Payable, interest rate term	a fixed interest rate of 5.00% until, but excluding December 5, 2013 and 9.00% thereafter	a fixed interest rate of 5.00% until, but excluding December 5, 2013 and 9.00% thereafter
Debt Instrument Unamortized Discount	436,530	465,963

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Debt Instruments, Maturity Date

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Latest date the outstanding debt instruments are required to be repaid.

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Including current and noncurrent portions, aggregate carrying amount of long-term borrowings as of the balance sheet date before deducting unamortized discount or premiums (if any). May include notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt, which had initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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When presenting a range of interest rates, the highest stated (contractual) rate for funds borrowed under the debt agreement as of the balance sheet date.

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Description of the interest rate as being fixed or variable, and, if variable, identification of the index or rate on which the interest rate is based and the number of points or percentage added to that index or rate to set the rate, and other pertinent information, such as frequency of rate resets.

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Description of the maturity date of the debt instrument including whether the debt matures serially and, if so, a brief description of the serial maturities.

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The amount of debt discount that was originally recognized at the issuance of the instrument that has yet to be amortized.

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The earliest year of maturity for the advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank as of the Balance Sheet date.

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The last year of maturity for the advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank as of the Balance Sheet date.

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States the lowest interest rate applicable to any of the advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank as of the Balance Sheet date.

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States the highest interest rate applicable to any of the advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank as of the Balance Sheet date.

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