Traders and investors in the derivatives markets have started to increase their bearish bets on bank stocks in the past week, as the likelihood of capital raisings at some institutions have weighed heavily on share prices.

Volumes of put options, which give the buyer the right to sell stock at a predetermined time and price in the future, on several US bank stocks have grown in the past week, after a two-month period of a steady decline in the transactions, which effectively punts on a fall in the underlying share price .