Bank of America poached a top trader from JPMorgan — another sign that the revival in stock trading is heating up the battle for talent (JPM, BAC)

That in turn creates a hole on the flow-trading front for JPMorgan, which also lost Seok Yoon Jeong, its head of index flow volatility trading in the US, to Citigroup in March.

Competition for star traders has been fierce this year amid a rebound in volatility that has revived banks’ stock-trading businesses, with some reporting record revenue in the first quarter.

The total equities revenue pool grew 28% in the first quarter, according to research from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, especially in derivatives as clients clamored to take advantage of market tumult. The second quarter has been less frothy, though the political crisis in Italy and uncertainty in Spain have spurred activity recently, the research said.

The trend stands in contrast to recent years, in which banks’ equities departments have been battered as client activity has plummeted. The prolonged shift from active fund management to passive investing has limited trading opportunities for banks that serve hedge funds.

The move to electronic trading from human brokers has also put pressure on margins. US equity commissions from institutional investors to brokers have fallen eight years in a row, according to research from Greenwich Associates.