Too few consumers know what an authorised deposit-taking institution is, which is a handbrake to small financial institutions handicapped by the term. The Customer Owned Banking Association is pushing the term "authorised banking institution" in place of ADI.Mutuals say that no matter what the size, any ADI - as they are regulated the same way - should be able to use the term bank. This is a valid view, as really there is no difference between a bank, building society or credit union.Thresholds could be eased to allow more mutuals to trade clearly as banks. Another half dozen mutuals would qualify if the tier one capital required to become a "bank" were cut from A$50 million to $40 million.Only around half of mutuals with a $50 million capital base have chosen the mutual bank path so far.Perhaps 30 per cent of all mutuals may meet the current threshold this year.APRA may prefer to keeping the minimum at $50 million to encourage consolidation in the sector.