ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details Narrative) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended											12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Furniture and equipment Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Furniture and equipment Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Building premises Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Building premises Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 1st Centennial Bank	Dec. 31, 2012 Western Commercial	Dec. 31, 2012 San Luis Trust Bank (SLTB)	Feb. 18, 2011 San Luis Trust Bank (SLTB)	Dec. 31, 2012 Electronic Banking Solutions division of Palm Desert National Bank	Apr. 08, 2011 Electronic Banking Solutions division of Palm Desert National Bank	Dec. 31, 2012 PacWest Bank
Date of Acquisition Agreement								Jan. 23, 2009	Nov. 05, 2010	Feb. 18, 2011		Apr. 08, 2011		Nov. 06, 2012
Assets									$ 109,000	$ 367,159	$ 367,159		$ 91,483
Loans									55,000	138,792	138,792
Cash and federal funds sold										98,820	98,820
Cash and cash equivalents									32,000			85,389	85,389
FDIC shared-loss asset									16,700	70,293	70,293
Securities									2,000	40,972	40,972
Foreclosed securities										12,772	12,772
Other assets									3,000	5,510	5,510		89
Intangible assets												6,005	6,005
Liabilities									107,000	346,000	346,007		91,213
Deposits									105,000	266,149	266,149	91,483	91,018
Federal Home Loan Bank advances										61,541	61,541
Deferred tax liability										15,316	15,316
FDIC shared-loss liability										2,564	2,564
Other liabilities									2,000	400	437
Pre-tax bargain purchase gain									2,300	36,500		500
Number of the acquiree's entity full-service branch locations										19
Description of reason for business combination												The Electronic Payment Services Division, or the EPS division, its new name under the Bank, issues prepaid cards and sponsors merchant acquiring services for all national and regional networks, including Visa, MasterCard, and Discover throughout all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Purchase agreement price								48,800				5,500
Acquisition by PacWest Bancorp, price per share														$ 8.00
Acquisition by PacWest Bancorp, estimated value														231,000
Description of shares of PacWest to be rendered in acquisition to First California's shareholders												First California shareholders will received PacWest common stock for their shares of First California common stock in a tax-free transaction. First California in-the-money option holders will receive cash, net of applicable taxes withheld, for the value of their unexercised stock options. The holders of 100 percent of the First California Series A preferred stock have agreed to convert their shares into common stock, per the terms of the series of preferred stock, and have teh resulting common stock exchanged in the transaction. PacWest and First California expect to redeem First California's outstanding Series C preferred stock for cash in accordance with its terms immediately prior to the closing of teh transaction.
Pre-tax impairment charge of intangible assets, related to the EPS division	4,800
Investment in FHLB stock	9,300	10,000
Stock investments in other companies for CRA and other bank-related purposes	1,500	1,500
Impairment loss recognized on CRA-related cost basis investments	39	41
Notional amount of interest rate cap designated as cash flow hedge	37,100
Junior subordinated debentures	26,805	26,805
Aggregate notional amount non-designated Hedges	240,000
Advertising costs	$ 199	$ 273	$ 48
Useful life				3 years	7 years	10 years	39 years