Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 24, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Entity Registrant Name	FIRST CITIZENS BANCSHARES INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000798941
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 1,930,557,160
Class A Common Stock
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		11,005,220
Class B Common Stock
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,005,185