VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES (Details) RSO			1 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 29, 2014 USD ($)	Nov. 16, 2011 USD ($) shares	Feb. 28, 2014	May. 31, 2013	Feb. 28, 2013 Entity	Oct. 31, 2012	Feb. 28, 2011 USD ($) Entity	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) Entity Position	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) Entity credit Position	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) shares	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Borrowings								$ 21,029,000		$ 21,029,000		$ 20,412,000
Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Maximum Exposure to Loss in Non-consolidated VIEs								5,142,000		5,142,000
RSO [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								189,000		189,000		25,000
Restricted cash								43,954,000		43,954,000		121,247,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								84,858,000		$ 84,858,000		119,203,000
Number Of Credits Supported In VIEs | credit										2
Investments in unconsolidated entities								56,150,000		$ 56,150,000		59,827,000	$ 750,000
Borrowings								1,827,793,000		1,827,793,000		1,717,076,000
Intangible assets								24,370,000		24,370,000		18,610,000
Fee income								3,446,000	$ 2,322,000	5,051,000	$ 4,822,000
Preferred equity acquired						66.60%
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								1,352,546,000		1,352,546,000		1,261,137,000
Loans held for sale								6,027,000		6,027,000		282,000
Interest receivable								5,468,000		5,468,000		8,941,000
Prepaid expenses								182,000		182,000		221,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0		25,767,000
Other assets								9,000		9,000		(12,000)
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								1,493,233,000		1,493,233,000		1,536,811,000
Borrowings								1,047,172,000		1,047,172,000		1,046,494,000
Accrued interest expense								852,000		852,000		1,000,000
Derivatives, at fair value								5,946,000		5,946,000		8,439,000
Unsettled loan purchases								(529,000)		(529,000)		(529,000)
Accounts payable and other liabilities								190,000		190,000		(386,000)
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								1,053,631,000		1,053,631,000		1,055,018,000
RSO [Member] | Series B Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Preferred stock, coupon authorized		8.00%
RSO [Member] | Investment in RCAM [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of CLOs held by purchased entity | Entity							5
Acquisition							$ 22,500,000
Intangible assets								8,500,000		8,500,000		9,400,000
Fee income								896,000	1,100,000	1,900,000	2,800,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Available for Reinvestment in Certain Collateralized Debt Obligations								$ 2,100,000		$ 2,100,000
Number of consolidated VIEs | Entity								12		12
Cash and cash equivalents								$ 189,000		$ 189,000
Restricted cash								43,954,000		43,954,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								84,858,000		84,858,000
Financial support provided to VIEs									$ 10,000	0	$ 549,000
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								1,352,546,000		1,352,546,000
Loans held for sale								6,027,000		6,027,000
Interest receivable								5,468,000		5,468,000
Prepaid expenses								182,000		182,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								9,000		9,000
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								1,493,233,000		1,493,233,000
Borrowings								1,047,172,000		1,047,172,000
Accrued interest expense								852,000		852,000
Derivatives, at fair value								5,946,000		5,946,000
Unsettled loan purchases								(529,000)		(529,000)
Accounts payable and other liabilities								190,000		190,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								1,053,631,000		1,053,631,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Apidos CDO I Ltd. [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								347,000		347,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								0		0
Loans held for sale								153,000		153,000
Interest receivable								0		0
Prepaid expenses								0		0
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								500,000		500,000
Borrowings								0		0
Accrued interest expense								0		0
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								0		0
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Moselle [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments										30,400,000
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								557,000		557,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								0		0
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								0		0
Prepaid expenses								0		0
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								557,000		557,000
Borrowings								159,000		159,000
Accrued interest expense								0		0
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								161,000		161,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								320,000		320,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | RCM Global Manager, LLC [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								189,000		189,000
Restricted cash								0		0
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								12,288,000		12,288,000
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								0		0
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								(298,000)		(298,000)
Prepaid expenses								0		0
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								12,179,000		12,179,000
Borrowings								0		0
Accrued interest expense								0		0
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								(529,000)		(529,000)
Accounts payable and other liabilities								2,000		2,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								(527,000)		(527,000)
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Investment in RCAM [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Preferred equity acquired				68.30%		66.60%
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Apidos CDO III Ltd. [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								3,613,000		3,613,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								0		0
Loans held for sale								1,358,000		1,358,000
Interest receivable								0		0
Prepaid expenses								10,000		10,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								4,981,000		4,981,000
Borrowings								0		0
Accrued interest expense								0		0
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								3,000		3,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								3,000		3,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Apidos Cinco CDO Ltd [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								37,231,000		37,231,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								10,268,000		10,268,000
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								180,758,000		180,758,000
Loans held for sale								4,516,000		4,516,000
Interest receivable								734,000		734,000
Prepaid expenses								24,000		24,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								233,531,000		233,531,000
Borrowings								208,893,000		208,893,000
Accrued interest expense								253,000		253,000
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								14,000		14,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								209,160,000		209,160,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Whitney CLO I, Ltd. [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								116,000		116,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								0		0
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								0		0
Prepaid expenses								0		0
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								116,000		116,000
Borrowings								0		0
Accrued interest expense								0		0
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								0		0
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Resource Real Estate Funding CDO 2006-1 [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								20,000		20,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								5,854,000		5,854,000
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								94,504,000		94,504,000
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								374,000		374,000
Prepaid expenses								15,000		15,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								100,767,000		100,767,000
Borrowings								57,205,000		57,205,000
Accrued interest expense								33,000		33,000
Derivatives, at fair value								346,000		346,000
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								9,000		9,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								57,593,000		57,593,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | Resource Real Estate Funding CDO 2007-1 [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								250,000		250,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								56,448,000		56,448,000
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								190,911,000		190,911,000
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								1,302,000		1,302,000
Prepaid expenses								95,000		95,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								249,006,000		249,006,000
Borrowings								125,055,000		125,055,000
Accrued interest expense								97,000		97,000
Derivatives, at fair value								5,600,000		5,600,000
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								1,000		1,000
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								130,753,000		130,753,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | RCC CRE Notes 2013 [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								1,815,000		1,815,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								192,480,000		192,480,000
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								792,000		792,000
Prepaid expenses								28,000		28,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								195,115,000		195,115,000
Borrowings								145,786,000		145,786,000
Accrued interest expense								132,000		132,000
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								145,918,000		145,918,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | RCC CRE Notes 2014 [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								0		0
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								351,301,000		351,301,000
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								1,324,000		1,324,000
Prepaid expenses								10,000		10,000
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								9,000		9,000
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								352,644,000		352,644,000
Borrowings								231,846,000		231,846,000
Accrued interest expense								125,000		125,000
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								231,971,000		231,971,000
RSO [Member] | RSO [Member] | RCC CRE Notes 2015 [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents								0		0
Restricted cash								5,000		5,000
Investments securities available-for-sale, pledged as collateral, at fair value								0		0
Loans, pledged as collateral and net of allowances of $42.7 million and $3.3 million								342,592,000		342,592,000
Loans held for sale								0		0
Interest receivable								1,240,000		1,240,000
Prepaid expenses								0		0
Principal paydown receivable								0		0
Other assets								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Consolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								343,837,000		343,837,000
Borrowings								278,228,000		278,228,000
Accrued interest expense								212,000		212,000
Derivatives, at fair value								0		0
Unsettled loan purchases								0		0
Accounts payable and other liabilities								0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE-RSO								278,440,000		$ 278,440,000
RSO [Member] | RCM Global Manager, LLC [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in VIE										45.90%
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities								51,594,000		$ 51,594,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net								8,542,000		8,542,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								60,136,000		60,136,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Borrowed Funds								51,308,000		51,308,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Liabilities								51,308,000		51,308,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net								8,828,000		$ 8,828,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in VIE		26.70%								28.40%
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities								39,818,000		$ 39,818,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities		$ 36,300,000						$ 39,800,000		$ 39,800,000		39,400,000
Variable interest entity, number of board positions held by the company | Position								2		2
Variable interest entity, total number of board positions | Position								6		6
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net								$ 0		$ 0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								39,818,000		39,818,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Borrowed Funds								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Liabilities								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net								39,818,000		$ 39,818,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member] | Series A Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments												$ 3,700,000
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares) | shares		31,341
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member] | Series B Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares) | shares		4,872
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member] | Series D Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares) | shares		2,364
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member] | Series A1 Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares) | shares												3,682
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | LEAF [Member] | Series E Preferred Stock [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments												$ 4,400,000
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares) | shares												4,445
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Investment in RCT I and RCT II [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in VIE										100.00%
Investments in unconsolidated entities								$ 1,500,000		$ 1,500,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Interest in RCT I [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Percentage of total value of trusts owned								3.00%		3.00%
Borrowings								$ 25,800,000		$ 25,800,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Interest in RCT II [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Percentage of total value of trusts owned								3.00%		3.00%
Borrowings								$ 25,800,000		$ 25,800,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Investment in RCAM [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of CLOs held by purchased entity | Entity							4
Number of Collateralized Loan Obligations Liquidated | Entity					1
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Unsecured Junior Subordinated Debentures [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities								1,548,000		1,548,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								1,548,000		1,548,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Borrowed Funds								51,308,000		51,308,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Liabilities								51,308,000		51,308,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net								(49,760,000)		(49,760,000)
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Resource Capital Asset Management [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net								8,542,000		8,542,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								8,542,000		8,542,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Borrowed Funds								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Liabilities								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net								8,542,000		8,542,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | ZAIS [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Investment in Unconsolidated Entities								10,228,000		10,228,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities								8,300,000		8,300,000
Investment Maximum								10,000,000		10,000,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets								10,228,000		10,228,000
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Borrowed Funds								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Liabilities								0		0
Variable Interest Entity, Nonconsolidated, Carrying Amount, Assets and Liabilities, Net								10,228,000		10,228,000
RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] | Pelium [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Investments in unconsolidated entities								1,800,000		1,800,000
Investment Maximum								3,000,000		3,000,000
Class 1 Subordinated Notes [Member] | RSO [Member] | Moselle [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Percentage of Outstanding Notes Purchased			100.00%
Class 2 Subordinated Notes [Member] | RSO [Member] | Moselle [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Percentage of Outstanding Notes Purchased			67.90%
RCC Residential, Inc. [Member] | RSO [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments	$ 15,000,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses and Interest in Affiliates	$ 23,500,000
Ownership percentage	63.80%
Investments in Unconsolidated Entities [Member] | RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Maximum Exposure to Loss in Non-consolidated VIEs								51,594,000		51,594,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net [Member] | RSO [Member] | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Maximum Exposure to Loss in Non-consolidated VIEs								$ 8,542,000		$ 8,542,000