Derivative Financial Instruments - Notional Amount of Interest Rate Swap Agreements Designated as Fair Value and Cash Flow Hedges (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) contract	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) contract
Fair Value Hedges
Derivative [Line Items]
Total	$ 8,916	$ 9,398
Increase (decrease) in carrying value of long-term debt	340	(105)
Fair Value Hedges \| Investment securities available for sale
Derivative [Line Items]
Investment securities available for sale	1,666	1,698
Fair Value Hedges \| Long-term debt
Derivative [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 7,250	$ 7,700
Interest-rate contracts \| Cash Flow Hedges
Derivative [Line Items]
Number of securities \| contract	0	0

Aggregate notional amount specified by the derivative(s). Expressed as an absolute value.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Article 12
-Section 13
-Sentence Column B

+ Details

Name:	invest_DerivativeNotionalAmount
Namespace Prefix:	invest_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Increase (Decrease) In Carrying Value Of Long Term Debt

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	stt_IncreaseDecreaseInCarryingValueOfLongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	stt_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Nominal or face amount used to calculate payments on the derivative asset.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5579245-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Notional Amount
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6519104

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5580258-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeAssetNotionalAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Nominal or face amount used to calculate payments on the derivative liability.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5580258-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Notional Amount
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6519104

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5579245-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeLiabilityNotionalAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of derivative instruments of a particular group held by the entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5580258-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56946850&loc=SL5579245-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeNumberOfInstrumentsHeld
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentsGainLossByHedgingRelationshipAxis=us-gaap_FairValueHedgingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MajorTypesOfDebtAndEquitySecuritiesAxis=us-gaap_AvailableforsaleSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MajorTypesOfDebtAndEquitySecuritiesAxis=us-gaap_LongTermDebtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_InterestRateContractMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentsGainLossByHedgingRelationshipAxis=us-gaap_CashFlowHedgingMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: