CNBC reports that Ermotti told its correspondent Christine Tan: "There has been a level of complacency in financial markets in the last few years," adding that given the environment one would have expected considerably higher volatility. The same report attributes to him the observation that new problems keep emerging without old ones being resolved, and lists the headwinds as Iran and Ukraine war-driven energy and shipping risks, US-China rivalry straining supply chains, rising borrowing costs and stubborn inflation. It also reports him saying that strong investment in artificial intelligence, data centres and other new technologies has helped support growth and markets, that it is "not really advisable to have too many strong convictions" in this environment, and that he expects the ECB, Fed and Bank of Japan to raise rates in coming months: "The ECB may start hike process. The Fed will follow. We do expect a couple of hikes in the next few months." CNBC further reports that UBS clients have been diversifying across sectors and geographies over recent quarters while continuing to invest in AI and technology, with no wholesale retreat from US assets or the dollar and no substantial change in overall allocation over the past year. Market data are consistent with the low-volatility characterisation: the VIX hit 14.2 on 14 August 2026, its lowest level of 2026 at that point, and closed at 15.84 on 11 September 2026.