Bank consolidation may have the strongest yearly showing in 2015 since the financial crisis. The banking industry agreed to 34 deals in October collectively valued at $8.2 billion, marking the best single month for M&A this year. Those deals boasted an average premium of 152% of tangible book value. While M&A has largely been dominated by small banks in recent years, some large institutions may begin looking into M&A. Since January 2014, banks have agreed to 11 deals valued at more than $500 million. The heightened activity comes as many bankers revisit the notion of building scale, particularly at institutions that are around $50 billion in assets. That threshold triggers more regulatory scrutiny, which would add more challenges to an existing low interest rate environment.