"I think it's fair to say that the banking lobbyists are winning more than they're losing."

"They're going to try to thrash it out," said one top banking lobbyist.

"He didn't pass anything off to his staff," said Mr. Yingling, the banking lobbyist.

The banking lobbyist David Manning recalls, "We all became buddies in the card games, but there never were any favors granted."

But the proposal perplexes some banking lobbyists, since that concept has been rejected by the Treasury and is considered an idea of the Democrats.

"Proxmire simply told them that he has the votes to override any veto, so why compromise that much," one banking lobbyist said.

Initial reaction from consumer advocates and banking lobbyists was favorable.

Other provisions, enacted over protests from banking lobbyists, require professional appraisals for all real estate transactions in which more than $50,000 changes hands.

On the other hand, real estate and banking lobbyists are expected to wage a hard campaign to keep the law from changing.

"This is a stacked deck," said one banking lobbyist.