Daily trading risks at top Wall Street banks hit their highest level since 2011 during the first-quarter turmoil, prompting speculation that their capital-intensive markets businesses would be further scaled back.

The top five Wall St banks’ aggregate “value at risk”, which measures their potential daily trading losses, soared to its highest level in 34 quarters during the first three months of the year, according to Financial Times analysis of the quarterly VaR high disclosed in banks’ regulatory filings.

The measure is a key input into the total risk attached to banks’ trading businesses, which determines how much capital must be assigned to future trading activities. Spikes in VaR mean trading units need more capital, particularly in the short term, making them more expensive to run.