"There is a brick wall in front of M&A activity," said Anu Aiyengar, global head of M&A at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N).
"We are in for choppiness," said Scott Barshay, chair of the corporate department at law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
And it's a giant struggle because there's a lot of dry powder for the equity part of private equity deals.
Dealmakers, however, said they expect the impact from the banking crisis on broader M&A activity to be contained, as most of the worst affected regional banks are not major advisers or lenders on deals.
The technology sector remains the best hunting ground for corporate acquirers or private equity financiers, deal advisors said.