v3.20.4

Investment in Securities (Maturities of Securities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands | Dec. 31, 2020 | Dec. 31, 2019
--- | --- | ---
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) | [1],[2] | $ 1,514,185 | $ 2,449,941
Amortized Cost |  | $ 1,474,155 | $ 2,342,369
Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.92% | 4.23%
Long |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 1,514,185 | $ 2,449,941
Amortized Cost |  | $ 1,508,997 | $ 2,415,210
Long | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.84% | 4.15%
Long | Agency RMBS |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 911,787 | $ 1,901,684
Amortized Cost |  | $ 881,270 | $ 1,886,235
Long | Agency RMBS | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.84% | 4.02%
Long | Agency RMBS | Less than three years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 139,059 | $ 188,593
Amortized Cost |  | $ 135,844 | $ 187,099
Long | Agency RMBS | Less than three years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 4.15% | 3.39%
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 770,173 | $ 961,839
Amortized Cost |  | $ 742,946 | $ 953,031
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.79% | 4.25%
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 2,555 | $ 713,862
Amortized Cost |  | $ 2,480 | $ 708,805
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.01% | 3.89%
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than eleven year [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 0 | $ 37,390
Amortized Cost |  | $ 0 | $ 37,300
Long | Agency RMBS | Greater than eleven year [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.00% | 3.51%
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 47,656 | $ 35,279
Amortized Cost |  | $ 43,406 | $ 34,044
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.36% | 2.81%
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Less than three years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 8,143 | $ 9,011
Amortized Cost |  | $ 7,314 | $ 8,611
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Less than three years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.99% | 3.35%
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 32,669 | $ 25,334
Amortized Cost |  | $ 29,362 | $ 24,512
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.74% | 2.66%
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 5,165 | $ 934
Amortized Cost |  | $ 5,063 | $ 921
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 1.04% | 1.90%
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than eleven year [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 1,679 | $ 0
Amortized Cost |  | $ 1,667 | $ 0
Long | Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than eleven year [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.83% | 0.00%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 312,157 | $ 283,102
Amortized Cost |  | $ 317,081 | $ 269,124
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 2.98% | 3.37%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Less than three years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 58,350 | $ 50,120
Amortized Cost |  | $ 54,339 | $ 48,213
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Less than three years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.39% | 2.73%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 114,815 | $ 87,436
Amortized Cost |  | $ 109,161 | $ 79,326
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.45% | 4.42%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 109,519 | $ 127,533
Amortized Cost |  | $ 123,782 | $ 123,924
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 2.74% | 3.31%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than eleven year [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 29,473 | $ 18,013
Amortized Cost |  | $ 29,799 | $ 17,661
Long | Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS | Greater than eleven year [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 1.46% | 0.81%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 201,090 | $ 163,136
Amortized Cost |  | $ 190,759 | $ 151,668
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.15% | 3.41%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 9,610 | $ 8,316
Amortized Cost |  | $ 8,123 | $ 6,517
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 1.17% | 1.10%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Less than three years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 5,163 | $ 439
Amortized Cost |  | $ 3,754 | $ 401
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Less than three years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.92% | 1.37%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 4,447 | $ 7,877
Amortized Cost |  | $ 4,369 | $ 6,116
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 1.37% | 1.08%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Amortized Cost |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.00% | 0.00%
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than eleven year [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Amortized Cost |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Long | Non-Agency RMBS | Interest only securities | Greater than eleven year [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.00% | 0.00%
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 231,385 | $ 220,166
Amortized Cost |  | $ 257,513 | $ 218,048
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 5.09% | 6.60%
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Less than three years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 89,235 | $ 54,446
Amortized Cost |  | $ 90,869 | $ 54,090
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Less than three years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 7.73% | 11.11%
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 139,830 | $ 157,384
Amortized Cost |  | $ 163,670 | $ 155,651
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than three years less than seven years [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 3.69% | 5.38%
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 2,320 | $ 8,336
Amortized Cost |  | $ 2,974 | $ 8,307
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than seven years less than eleven [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 1.14% | 0.00%
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than eleven year [Member] |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Securities, at fair value(1)(2) |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Amortized Cost |  | $ 0 | $ 0
Long | CLOs And Other Securities [Member] | Greater than eleven year [Member] | Weighted Average |  |  |
Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |  |  |
Weighted Average Coupon |  | 0.00% | 0.00%
[1] | Ellington Financial Inc.'s Consolidated Balance Sheet includes assets and liabilities of variable interest entities it has consolidated. See Note 9 for additional details on Ellington Financial Inc.'s consolidated variable interest entities.
[2] | Includes assets pledged as collateral to counterparties. See Note 11 for additional details on the Company's borrowings and related collateral.

X
- Definition This item represents the cost of debt and equity securities, which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading, net of adjustments including accretion, amortization, collection of cash, previous other-than-temporary impairments recognized in earnings (less any cumulative-effect adjustments recognized, as defined), and fair value hedge accounting adjustments, if any. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesAmortizedCost
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 326 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118942338&loc=SL82898722-210454 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118954083&loc=d3e26610-111562 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (aa) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesDebtSecurities
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Rate of interest on investment. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27232-111563 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_InvestmentInterestRate
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- 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_ScheduleOfAvailableForSaleSecuritiesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | srt_RangeAxis=srt_WeightedAverageMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PositionAxis=us-gaap_LongMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_MortgageBackedSecuritiesIssuedByUSGovernmentSponsoredEnterprisesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | efc_EstimateweightedaveragelifeAxis=efc_LessthanthreeyearsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | efc_EstimateweightedaveragelifeAxis=efc_GreaterthanthreeyearslessthansevenyearsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | efc_EstimateweightedaveragelifeAxis=efc_GreaterthansevenyearslessthanelevenMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | efc_EstimateweightedaveragelifeAxis=efc_GreaterthanelevenyearMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=us-gaap_InterestOnlyStripMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=efc_ResidentialMortgageandCommercialMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_MortgageBackedSecuritiesIssuedByPrivateEnterprisesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=efc_CollateralizedLoanObligationsAndOtherSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |