Junior Subordinated Debentures (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Junior subordinated debentures	$ 106,363	$ 106,363
Boston Private Capital Trust II Junior Subordinated Debentures
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Junior subordinated debentures	103,093	103,093
Boston Private Capital Trust I Junior Subordinated Debentures
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Junior subordinated debentures	$ 3,270	$ 3,270
Junior Subordinated Debentures
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt term (more than)	5 years

Including the current and noncurrent portions, the carrying value of junior subordinated long-term debt owed to unconsolidated subsidiary trusts as of the balance sheet date. Such debt places a lender in a lien position behind debt having a higher priority of repayment in liquidation of the entity's assets and was initially scheduled to be repaid after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle if longer.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.16)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Name:	us-gaap_JuniorSubordinatedDebentureOwedToUnconsolidatedSubsidiaryTrust
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant