Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012		Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense	$ 2,000,000		$ 2,000,000
Goodwill	420,434,000	[1]		317,962,000	[1]
State Bancorp Inc [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill	102,500,000
Loan Servicing Rights [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Net recoveries of impairment charges on its loan servicing rights	420,000		52,000
Core Deposits [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization period, years	10
Core deposits intangibles from acquisition	$ 8,100,000
Others [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted average amortization period, years	16

[1] Valley's Wealth Management Division is comprised of trust, asset management, and insurance services. This reporting unit is included in the Consumer Lending segment for financial reporting purposes.