House leaders will likely form a select committee to explore a rewrite of the regulatory structure that governs the financial industry, Rep. Barney Frank , D-Mass., said Tuesday.

“I think that’s probably going to happen,” said Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, during a break in a hearing by the panel.

Frank said the leaders of his committee — as well as those from the Oversight and Government Reform, Agriculture and Ways and Means panels — would be among the members of such a committee.

“The one thing I’m determined to do is not fight about turf,” Frank said.

The issue of a select committee came up as Democrats and Republicans on the Financial Services panel began staking out their positions and probed financial experts on an expected regulatory overhaul.

The hearing comes just weeks after Congress approved a $700 billion economic rescue package aimed at avoiding a meltdown in the financial markets, and as the Treasury Department is injecting $250 billion of that money directly into financial firms in exchange for equity stakes.

As the government’s involvement in the financial system has grown, Republicans and Democrats have called for a complete overhaul of regulations to guide the conduct of the financial sector and dictate how much information it must disclose. Many critics say an outdated regulatory structure that has not kept pace with the growing complexity of the financial world contributed to the current turmoil.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. has proposed consolidating the current alphabet soup of regulatory agencies into three: A regulator focused on market stability, another focused on safety and soundness of institutions that are supported by a federal guarantee and a third focused on protecting consumers and investors.