Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 29, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Registrant Name	E TRADE FINANCIAL CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0001015780
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Common stock shares outstanding		278,728,710
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1