Mergers and Acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jul. 26, 2013 First Financial	Jul. 31, 2013 First Financial	Sep. 30, 2013 First Financial	Sep. 30, 2013 First Financial	Sep. 30, 2012 First Financial	Jul. 26, 2013 First Financial Common Stock	Jul. 26, 2013 First Financial Preferred Stock	Jul. 26, 2013 First Financial As previously recorded by acquiree	Jul. 26, 2013 First Financial Fair Value Adjustments	Sep. 30, 2013 Savannah Bancorp and FFCH
Mergers and Acquisitions
Fixed exchange ratio for shares issued												0.4237	1
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents							$ 174,082,000							$ 174,082,000
Investment securities							311,812,000							313,200,000	(1,388,000)
Loans held for sale							19,864,000							19,858,000	6,000
Loans							2,262,807,000							2,355,527,000	(97,720,000)
Premises and equipment							76,964,000							82,399,000	(5,435,000)
Intangible assets							40,775,000							7,037,000	33,738,000
Other real estate owned and repossessed assets							11,909,000							14,569,000	(2,660,000)
FDIC receivable for loss sharing agreement							29,337,000							47,459,000	(18,122,000)
Bank owned life insurance	96,551,000	35,785,000	96,551,000	35,785,000	42,737,000		51,513,000							51,513,000
Deferred tax asset							45,336,000							2,595,000	42,741,000
Other assets							61,304,000							66,834,000	(5,530,000)
Total assets							3,085,703,000							3,135,073,000	(49,370,000)
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing							430,517,000							430,517,000
Interest-bearing							2,091,296,000							2,083,495,000	7,801,000
Total deposits							2,521,813,000							2,514,012,000	7,801,000
Other borrowings							301,713,000							280,187,000	21,526,000
Other liabilities							33,118,000							35,177,000	(2,059,000)
Total liabilities							2,856,644,000							2,829,376,000	27,268,000
Net identifiable assets acquired over (under) liabilities assumed							229,059,000							305,697,000	(76,638,000)
Goodwill	319,180,000	66,895,000	319,180,000	66,895,000	101,286,000	62,888,000	217,894,000								217,894,000
Net assets acquired over liabilities assumed							446,953,000							305,697,000	141,256,000
Consideration:
SCBT Financial Corporation common shares issued								7,018,274				7,018,274		7,018,274
Purchase price per share of the Company's common stock (in dollars per share)														$ 54.34
Company common stock issued and cash exchanged for fractional shares														381,423,000
Cash paid for stock options outstanding														530,000
Assumption of preferred stock														65,000,000
Fair value of total consideration transferred														446,953,000
Income tax rate at which fair value adjustments are made to adjust deferred tax asset (as a percent)															35.80%
Merger-related expense							10,400,000									13,200,000
Provision for loan losses	659,000	4,044,000	1,898,000	11,408,000						8,300,000	16,000,000
Proforma amounts
Total revenues (net interest income plus noninterest income), Actual since Acquisition									30,244,000
Net income available to the common shareholder, Actual since Acquisition									7,012,000
Total revenues (net interest income plus noninterest income), Pro Forma										329,046,000	362,666,000
Net income available to the common shareholder, Pro Forma										$ 58,163,000	$ 34,119,000