COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details 2) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified									0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Loans Sold or Securitized with Recourse	Dec. 31, 2013 Loans Sold or Securitized with Recourse	Sep. 30, 2014 Loans Sold without Recourse	Dec. 31, 2013 Loans Sold without Recourse	Sep. 30, 2014 Loans Securitized without Recourse	Dec. 31, 2013 Loans Securitized without Recourse	Sep. 08, 2014 F&F, LLC and 618 Investment, Inc. v. East West Bank East West Bank	Sep. 30, 2014 F&F, LLC and 618 Investment, Inc. v. East West Bank East West Bank
Loss contingencies
Principal amount of single-family loans with full recourse sold or securitized			$ 36.5	$ 42.2
Principal amount of multifamily loans with limited recourse sold or securitized			236.9	296.6
Principal amount of loans sold or securitized			273.4	338.8	788.8	818.2	169.3	193.8
Recourse provision limitation, maximum percentage of the top loss on the multifamily loans			4.00%	4.00%
Recourse reserve related to loan sales and securitizations totaled			2.4	3.2
Litigation
Damages awarded									38.9
Compensatory damages awarded									16.9
Punitive damages awarded									22.0
Litigation accrual										28.8
Other Commitments
Other Commitments	$ 112.7	$ 73.1