Regulatory Matters (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Financial Advisory
Amount required to be segregated in cash and securities	$ 278,280	$ 76,013
Bank
Tier 1 capital (to average assets)
Actual Amount	945,922	845,656
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	11.34%	10.31%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	333,675	328,025
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	4.00%	4.00%
Common equity Tier 1 capital (to risk weighted assets)
Actual Amount	945,922
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	16.46%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	258,619
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	4.50%
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Actual Amount	945,922	845,656
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	16.46%	13.74%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	344,826	246,099
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	6.00%	4.00%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Actual Amount	987,755	888,744
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	17.19%	14.45%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	459,767	492,198
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	8.00%	8.00%
Tier 1 capital (to average assets)
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	417,094	410,031
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	5.00%	5.00%
Common Equity Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	373,561
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	6.50%
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	459,767	369,148
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	8.00%	6.00%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	574,709	615,247
To Be Well Capitalized Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	10.00%	10.00%
Hilltop Holdings Inc.
Tier 1 capital (to average assets)
Actual Amount	1,556,506	1,231,724
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	12.68%	14.17%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	491,149	347,619
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	4.00%	4.00%
Common equity Tier 1 capital (to risk weighted assets)
Actual Amount	1,386,467
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	18.05%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	345,650
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	4.50%
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Actual Amount	1,556,506	1,231,724
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	20.26%	19.02%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	460,866	259,078
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	6.00%	4.00%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)
Actual Amount	1,598,829	1,275,023
Actual Ratio (as a percent)	20.82%	19.69%
Minimum Capital Requirements, Amount	614,488	518,157
Minimum Capital Requirements, Ratio (as a percent)	8.00%	8.00%
First Southwest Company
Financial Advisory
Net capital	66,844
Less required net capital	5,353
Excess net capital	61,491
Net capital as a percentage of aggregate debits	25.00%
Net capital in excess of 5% aggregate debt items	53,461
Southwest Securities
Financial Advisory
Net capital	164,058
Less required net capital	6,343
Excess net capital	157,715
Net capital as a percentage of aggregate debits	51.73%
Net capital in excess of 5% aggregate debt items	148,200
SWS Financial
Financial Advisory
Net capital	1,055
Less required net capital	250
Excess net capital	805
Hilltop Broker-Dealers
Financial Advisory
Amount required to be segregated in cash and securities	$ 278,300	$ 76,000