Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Aug. 08, 2011 Class A Common Stock [Member]	Aug. 08, 2011 Class B Common Stock [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
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
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,756,778	1,639,987

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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