Great news for homeless bankers, and a sign that UBS might be hiring soon in DCM

Fine times for anyone who has been out of the market for more than 12 months: Rob Jolliffe, the former head of origination and primary markets debt at RBS, has made a dramatic comeback.

Jolliffe has joined UBS as joint head of the global debt business. He left RBS (voluntarily) in early 2008 and appears to have spent his leisure as chairman of the trustees of the National Botanic Garden of Wales (a role Financial News says he will keep on alongside his new position at UBS).

Jolliffe's return to the throng goes to show that 18 months+ out of the market need not be a career exterminator. Fixed income headhunters say he's a, "quality guy," and point out that the role at UBS, which suggests a new focus on debt for the bank, is a, "pretty interesting opportunity."

Jolliffe may also have been comparatively cheap: he's unlikely to have had much stock left from his days at RBS, and UBS could have wooed him with its new elevated salaries.

Rob's resurgence could also foretell hiring to come. His boss, Matthew Koder, spoke promisingly of him as an addition to an, "outstanding senior management team in place to drive the growth of DCM and the wider global capital markets business."

Headhunters point out that UBS has lost quite a lot of people from its DCM operations. "No doubt they will try to tap him for hires from RBS," says one.