Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements, Guarantees and Other Commitments - Total Capital Commitments, Unfunded Capital Commitments, and Our Ownership in Each Fund (Parenthetical) (Detail) (Venture capital and private equity fund investments)	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
SVB Capital Partners II, LP | Fair value accounting
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	5.10%	5.10%
SVB Capital Partners II, LP | Fair value accounting | Direct ownership interest
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	1.30%
SVB Capital Partners II, LP | Fair value accounting | Indirect ownership interest
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	3.80%
Other private equity fund | Fair value accounting
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	58.20%	58.20%
Other private equity fund | Fair value accounting | Direct ownership interest
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	41.50%
Other fund investments
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Number of other funds with investment commitments	287
Upper Limit | Other fund investments
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	5.00%
SVB Capital—NT Growth Partners, LP | Other private equity fund | Fair value accounting | Indirect ownership interest
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	12.60%
SVB Capital Preferred Return Fund, LP | Other private equity fund | Fair value accounting | Indirect ownership interest
Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership	4.10%