VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES BORROWINGS (Schedule of Debt) (Details) RSO (RSO [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 1,785,600	$ 1,794,083
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.62%	1.38%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	12 years 6 months	15 years 2 months
Value of Collateral	2,089,296	1,988,221
RREF CDO 2006-1 Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	145,664	157,803
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.42%	1.44%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	33 years 7 months	34 years 7 months
Value of Collateral	295,759	264,796
RREF CDO 2007-1 Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	225,983	315,882
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	0.81%	0.85%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	33 years 9 months	34 years 9 months
Value of Collateral	292,980	422,641
Apidos CDO I Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	202,969	314,884
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.07%	1.04%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	4 years 7 months	5 years 7 months
Value of Collateral	217,745	315,088
Apidos CDO III Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	221,304	261,209
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	0.80%	0.99%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	7 years 6 months	8 years 6 months
Value of Collateral	232,655	260,167
Apidos Cinco CDO Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	320,550	319,959
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	0.82%	0.95%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	7 years 5 months	8 years 5 months
Value of Collateral	344,105	326,164
Apidos CLO VIII Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	300,951	298,312
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.16%	2.42%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	8 years 9 months	9 years 10 months
Value of Collateral	351,014	334,122
Apidos CLO VIII Securitized Borrowings [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	20,047	21,364
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	15.27%	15.27%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	8 years 9 months	9 years 10 months
Value of Collateral	0	0
Whitney CLO I Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	171,555
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.82%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	4 years 2 months
Value of Collateral	191,704
Whitney CLO I Securitized Borrowings [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	5,860
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	9.50%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	4 years 2 months
Value of Collateral	0
Unsecured Junior Subordinated Debentures [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	50,814	50,631
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	4.26%	4.35%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	23 years 8 months	24 years 8 months
Value of Collateral	0	0
Repurchase Agreements Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	106,303	40,503
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.28%	1.54%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	18 days	18 days
Value of Collateral	145,234	47,143
Mortgages [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	13,600	13,536
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	4.17%	4.23%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	5 years 7 months	6 years 7 months
Value of Collateral	$ 18,100	$ 18,100