Pols to Circulate Draft Predatory Bill

House Financial Services Committee members have come very close to reaching a bipartisan agreement on predatory lending legislation, and they plan to circulate a draft of the bill soon for discussion purposes and to set the stage for committee action next year."I think we are awfully close [to an agreement]," Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala, told reporters. The chairman of the financial institutions subcommittee acknowledged that the bill would impose a suitability standard on lenders making mortgage loans, but declined to provide other details. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., noted that some conservative Republicans have problems with the bill. But he said mainstream Republicans on the committee are "ready to make the deal." In separate interviews, Reps. Bachus and Frank said that no matter which political party controls the House after the November elections, a predatory lending bill will be on the committee's agenda next year.