Credit Union Australia may seem a more natural fit for BCU - more cost out and more member profit for a start - but instead Steve Targett has led the BCU board to a more strategic union, one that improves access to the more valuable east coast market for P&N, a leader in digital and robotics in banking."The smaller players need to get consolidated," Targett said in an interview with Banking Day yesterday."There's got to be 20 or 30," soon enough, Targett said.One rule in mutual ADI mergers is that boards must own a merger.All of the half dozen mutual mergers in motion at the close of 2018 share this element.In the merger of BCU and P&N Bank, Targett said of BCU: "we had the good fortune". P&N were looking, and they boasted "a platform good for growth, and they want to grow on this side of the continent." "They've developed good technology; AI, digital and robotics," he said."This gets us nicely into the top ten." Targett's first job in the mutual ADI sector was at Unicredit in Perth. In 2013 he moved to Brisbane as CERO of QT Mutual Bank and was around for its merger with RACQ. P&N / BCU boasted combined assets of A$5.85 billion at June 2018. They are tenth and 18th largest respectively in Australia's mutual banking sector, jumping to eighth - just ahead of Beyond Bank ($5.82 billion) and behind IMB ($5.9 billion).The number of mutual ADIs in Australia will drop to 66 within a year, from 74 at APRA's last quarterly count.Current merger negotiations are ongoing, leading to mergers for: Endeavour Mutual Bank / Sydney CU; Warwick CU / Gympie CU; Regional Australia Bank /Holiday Coast CU; and Coastline / Summerland CU.There is also the planned demutualisation of Maleny Credit Union, subject to a cash offer from Firstmac. Voting on this is underway.