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Summary of significant accounting policies (Details Textual)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012
Minimum [Member]
Equity Participation In Percentage	20.00%
Maximum [Member]
Equity Participation In Percentage	50.00%
Building [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	40 years
Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	5 years
Furniture and Fixtures [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	3 years
Furniture and Fixtures [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	5 years
Furniture and Equipment Improvement [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	3 years
Furniture and Equipment Improvement [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	15 years

X

- Definition

Represents the participation percentage on equity investments to be accounted for under the equity method.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	blx_EquityParticipationInPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	blx_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentUsefulLife
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration