Here's what 2022 has in store According to Alan Felder, managing director of UBS's OneBank Partnership, activity looks like it could remain elevated into next year. While gradual interest rate increases shouldn't impact M&A activity, rapidly rising interest rates could discourage M&A activity until inflationary conditions subside. Analysts say that ongoing support for markets through the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates helped spur more deals due to lower borrowing costs.