“Even bankers who stay on the M&A track may have reason to worry, said Anthony Keizner, cofounder of Wall Street recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners.

“The bigger thing that the bankers are worried about is if you tell them you’re leaving, then you’re less likely to be considered for the most high-profile deals, and it could affect the way you’re rated, and it could affect your bonus,” he said.

Meanwhile, the attestations don’t seem to be deterring young bankers from their buyside ambitions, according to Keizner, whose recruiting firm has surveyed about 1,100 first-year bankers in the past few weeks.

In describing the early findings, he said many of them are concerned about the situation and “unsure how to proceed” — but only “a tiny proportion” said they’re planning to not participate in PE recruiting because of policy changes at their banks.

“What does it mean to avoid conflicts?” Keizner said, adding, “Say you accept a role at PE firm X. Does it mean you can’t work on something related to PE firm Y? Or can you not work on a deal for a company where PE firm X has a portfolio company that’s competitive to it?”

“Just because you’ve accepted a role at the PE firm in 18 months’ time, it’s not like you’re privy to their deal pipeline or you’ve got the team on speed dial,” he added.

“I don’t think any of the participants nor firms know exactly where this is all headed,” Keizner said, adding. “Everyone is watching and waiting to see how the pieces will come together.”

“If the bankers won’t show up because they’re too scared or being seriously restricted from doing so — well that would be a big problem. That really would put a stick in the spokes of the system. But my sense is that we are not at that stage,” Keizner said.

“I think the bankers will still want to interview. The PE firms still want to hire,” he added. “Yes, it’s going a little later, but certainly based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s going to continue happening.”