SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policy)	3 Months Ended
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policy)	Mar. 31, 2019
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The Company evaluates subsequent events through the date of filing with the United States (“U.S.”) Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Changes in Presentation	Changes in Presentation We have revised the presentation of our Consolidated Statements of Operations for all reporting periods presented by reclassifying “Equity in income from unconsolidated funds and ventures” and all net gains (losses) associated with the Company’s bonds, loans, derivatives, real estate, other investments and the extinguishment of debt obligations as a component of “Non-interest income.” Additionally, the Company reclassified for all reporting periods certain discontinued operations that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2018 as a result of the assignment and settlement of certain agreements completing the Company’s disposition of its LIHTC related assets. Furthermore, we made certain reclassifications to prior year financial statements in order to enhance their comparability with current year financial statements.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of the Company’s financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, commitments and contingencies, and revenues and expenses. Management made estimates in certain areas, including the determination of fair values for bonds, derivative instruments and guarantee obligations. Management also made estimates in the determination and measurement of impairment of investments in bonds and real estate. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and of entities that are considered to be variable interest entities in which the Company is the primary beneficiary, as well as those entities in which the Company has a controlling financial interest, including wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Equity investments in unconsolidated entities where the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operations of the entity, but is not considered the primary beneficiary, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting.
New Accounting Guidance	New Accounting Guidance Adoption of New Accounting Standards Accounting for Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets In February 2017, ASU No. 2017‑05, “Other Income – Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Topic 610‑20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets” was issued. This guidance clarifies that the derecognition of all businesses should be accounted for in accordance with the derecognition and deconsolidation guidance of Topic 810‑10 – Consolidations. In addition, this guidance eliminates the scope exception in authoritative literature that governs transfers of financial assets related to transfers of investments (including equity method investments) in real estate entities and supersedes guidance related to the exchange of a nonfinancial asset for a noncontrolling ownership interest as set forth in Topic 845 – Nonmonetary Transactions. The effective date of ASU 2017‑05 is aligned with Topic 606. We adopted ASU No. 2017‑05 in conjunction with our adoption of Topic 606 as of January 1, 2018 and we recognized a cumulative effect adjustment of $9.2 million to retained earnings on January 1, 2018. Accounting for Financial Instruments In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, “Financial Instruments – Overall (Subtopic 825‑10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities.” This guidance amends the classification and measurement of financial instruments, including equity investments not accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Although this ASU retains many current requirements, it significantly revised an entity’s accounting related to (i) the classification and measurement of investments in equity securities and (ii) the presentation of certain fair value changes for financial liabilities measured at fair value. Additionally, certain disclosure requirements associated with the fair value of financial instruments were amended. We adopted this new guidance on its effective date of January 1, 2018. Upon adoption of this guidance, the Company assessed that certain of our equity investments did not have a readily determinable fair value, resulting in the Company electing the measurement alternative. As such, during the first quarter of 2018, the Company recognized a $0.4 million impairment within our Consolidated Statements of Operations. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-08, “Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.” This guidance amends the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium, shortening such period to the earliest call date. We adopted this new guidance on its effective date of January 1, 2019. Upon adoption of this guidance, the Company assessed that certain of our bond investments were being held at a premium resulting in a change to the amortization period. As such, during the first quarter of 2019, the Company recognized a cumulative effect adjustment of $0.3 million to retained earnings. Accounting for Income Taxes In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018‑02, “Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.” This new guidance permits companies to reclassify stranded tax effects caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Tax Act”) from AOCI to retained earnings and also requires new disclosures. We adopted this new guidance on its effective date of January 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not impact the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Operations, Consolidated Statements of Equity or Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as of the adoption date. Accounting for Stock Compensation In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018‑07, “Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting.” This guidance expands the scope of ASC Topic 718 to include all share-based payment arrangements related to the acquisition of goods and services from both nonemployees and employees. We adopted this new guidance on its effective date of January 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not impact the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Operations, Consolidated Statements of Equity or Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as of the adoption date. Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted Accounting for Financial Instruments In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016‑13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments Improvements.” This guidance is intended to reduce the complexity of United States (“U.S.”) GAAP by decreasing the number of credit impairment models that entities use to account for debt instruments. This guidance establishes an impairment methodology that reflects lifetime expected credit losses rather than incurred losses. This guidance requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. This new guidance is effective for us on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the new guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018‑13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This guidance eliminates certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements, requires public entities to disclose certain new information and modifies some disclosure requirements. This new guidance is effective for us on January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the new guidance on our consolidated financial statements.