VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES BORROWINGS (Schedule of Debt) (Details) RSO - USD ($) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
CDO notes	$ 0	$ 0
RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	1,853,054	1,734,901
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	25,593	18,030
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 1,827,461	$ 1,716,871
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.56%	2.09%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	10 years 7 months 6 days	10 years
Value of Collateral	$ 2,335,628	$ 2,287,115
Interest Payable	5,467	2,123
RSO [Member] \| RREF CDO 2006-1 Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	57,205	61,423
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	0
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 57,205	$ 61,423
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.28%	2.12%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	31 years 1 month 6 days	31 years 7 months 6 days
Value of Collateral	$ 100,062	$ 139,242
RSO [Member] \| RREF CDO 2007-1 Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	125,055	130,340
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	133
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 125,055	$ 130,207
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.19%	1.19%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	31 years 3 months 18 days	31 years 9 months 18 days
Value of Collateral	$ 247,292	$ 271,423
RSO [Member] \| RCC CRE Notes 2013 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	148,115	226,840
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	2,329	2,683
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 145,786	$ 224,157
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.28%	2.11%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	13 years 6 months	14 years
Value of Collateral	$ 192,666	$ 249,983
RSO [Member] \| RCC CRE Notes 2014 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	235,344	235,344
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	3,498	3,687
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 231,846	$ 231,657
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.48%	1.45%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	16 years 9 months 18 days	17 years 3 months 18 days
Value of Collateral	$ 348,194	$ 346,585
RSO [Member] \| RCC CRE Notes 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	282,127
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	3,899
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 278,228
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.08%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	16 years 8 months 12 days
Value of Collateral	$ 340,076
RSO [Member] \| Apidos CDO III Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding		74,646
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts		0
Outstanding Borrowings		$ 74,646
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.18%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		5 years 8 months 12 days
Value of Collateral		$ 85,553
RSO [Member] \| Apidos Cinco CDO Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	208,893	255,664
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	201
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 208,893	$ 255,463
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	0.93%	0.81%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	4 years 10 months 24 days	5 years 4 months 24 days
Value of Collateral	$ 229,238	$ 272,512
RSO [Member] \| Moselle CLO S.A. Securitized Borrowings [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	159	5,619
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	0
Outstanding Borrowings	159	$ 5,619
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.49%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		5 years
Value of Collateral	557	$ 0
RSO [Member] \| Moselle CLO S.A. Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding		63,321
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts		0
Outstanding Borrowings		$ 63,321
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.49%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		5 years
Value of Collateral		$ 93,576
Interest Payable		20
CDO notes		63,300
RSO [Member] \| Unsecured Junior Subordinated Debentures [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	51,548	51,548
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	240	343
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 51,308	$ 51,205
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	4.20%	4.19%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	21 years 3 months 18 days	21 years 9 months 18 days
Value of Collateral	$ 0	$ 0
RSO [Member] \| Six Percent Convertible Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	115,000	115,000
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	5,762	6,626
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 109,238	$ 108,374
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	6.00%	6.00%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	3 years 4 months 24 days	3 years 10 months 24 days
Value of Collateral	$ 0	$ 0
RSO [Member] \| Eight Percent Convertible Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	100,000
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	5,170
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 94,830
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	8.00%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	4 years 6 months
Value of Collateral	$ 0
RSO [Member] \| CRE - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	174,928	207,640
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	1,204	1,958
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 173,724	$ 205,682
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.24%	2.43%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	18 days	20 days
Value of Collateral	$ 273,686	$ 297,571
Interest Payable	187	198
RSO [Member] \| Repurchase Agreements Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding		24,967
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts		0
Outstanding Borrowings		$ 24,967
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.35%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		20 days
Value of Collateral		$ 30,180
RSO [Member] \| CMBS - Term Repurchase Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	29,929
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 29,929
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.38%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	18 days
Value of Collateral	$ 34,330
Interest Payable	13	12
RSO [Member] \| Mortgages [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	96,580	102,576
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	0
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 96,580	$ 102,576
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.74%	2.78%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	62 days	207 days
Value of Collateral	$ 128,465	$ 147,472
RSO [Member] \| RMBS - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding		22,248
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts		36
Outstanding Borrowings		$ 22,212
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.16%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		1 day
Value of Collateral		$ 27,885
Interest Payable	39	31
RSO [Member] \| CMBS - Short Term Repurchase Agreements [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	77,171	44,225
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	0	0
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 77,171	$ 44,225
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.71%	1.63%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	20 days	17 days
Value of Collateral	$ 113,381	$ 62,446
RSO [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding		113,500
Unamortized Issuance Costs and Discounts	3,491	2,363
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 147,509	$ 111,137
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	3.05%	2.66%
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	2 years 2 months 12 days	2 years 8 months 12 days
Value of Collateral	$ 327,681	$ 262,687
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| RSO [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	151,000
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| RCC Real Estate [Member] \| CRE - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 1,200	$ 1,700
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| CRE - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		2.38%
Amount at Risk		$ 76,148
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		20 days
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member] \| CRE - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.24%
Amount at Risk	$ 99,791
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	18 days
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member] \| CMBS - Term Repurchase Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.38%	1.35%
Amount at Risk	$ 4,024	$ 6,486
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	18 days	20 days
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member] \| RMBS - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.16%
Amount at Risk		$ 5,017
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		1 day
Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc [Member] \| RCC Real Estate [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Borrowings	$ 21	$ 268
Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| CRE - Term Repurchase Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		2.78%
Amount at Risk		$ 13,017
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		19 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal Outstanding	$ 377,404	$ 399,662
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.75%	2.75%
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.75%	2.75%
Amount at Risk	$ 25,349	$ 6,902
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	62 days	183 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| New Century Bank [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	2.73%	2.82%
Amount at Risk	$ 6,537	$ 853
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	61 days	242 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.64%	1.62%
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.72%
Amount at Risk	$ 22,784
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	24 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.62%
Amount at Risk		$ 11,810
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		20 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Wells Fargo Securities, LLC [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.72%	1.66%
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Wells Fargo Securities, LLC [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate	1.64%
Amount at Risk	$ 13,236
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity	11 days
Repurchase Agreements [Member] \| Wells Fargo Securities, LLC [Member] \| Linked and Non-linked Transactions [Member] \| RSO [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted Average Borrowing Rate		1.66%
Amount at Risk		$ 2,127
Weighted Average Remaining Maturity		9 days

Weighted average date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in free form syntax.

No definition available.

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- Definition

The aggregate fair value of assets that are already posted, at the end of the reporting period, as collateral for derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features.

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-Publisher FASB

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- Definition

Amount of long-term debt before deduction of unamortized discount or premium. Includes, but is not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt, with initial maturities beyond one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of interest payable on debt, including, but not limited to, trade payables.

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- Definition

Fair value of the amount outstanding under the credit facility.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 825

-SubTopic 10

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- Definition

Weighted average interest rate of long-term debt outstanding.

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- Definition

Including the current and noncurrent portions, aggregate carrying amount of all types of notes payable, as of the balance sheet date, with initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 210

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16)

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- Definition

The amount at risk under repurchase agreements is defined as the excess of carrying amount (or market value, if higher than the carrying amount or if there is no carrying amount) of the securities or other assets sold under agreement to repurchase, including accrued interest plus any cash or other assets on deposit to secure the repurchase obligation, over the amount of the repurchase liability (adjusted for accrued interest).

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

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-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(m)(1)(i)(B)(iii))

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- Definition

The remaining balance of debt issuance expenses that were capitalized and are being amortized against income over the lives of the respective bond issues. This does not include the amounts capitalized as part of the cost of the utility plant or asset.

+ References

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