"Volatility has been low but since the beginning of the year we have had the very rare combination of equity markets going up and volatility going up," he told Bloomberg TV in an interview from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

"The year has started very well but you cannot draw too many conclusions from 20 trading days."

He said the bank had a strong capital position that would strengthen as it emerges from a restructuring phase and generates capital organically. "The best source of capital is to operate profitably," he said.

(Reporting by Angelika Gruber, Editing by Michael Shields)