Committee approval of Gov. Price Daniel's ``abandoned property'' act seemed certain Thursday despite the adamant protests of Texas bankers.

Daniel personally led the fight for the measure, which he had watered down considerably since its rejection by two previous Legislatures, in a public hearing before the House Committee on Revenue and Taxation.

Under committee rules, it went automatically to a subcommittee for one week. But questions with which committee members taunted bankers appearing as witnesses left little doubt that they will recommend passage of it.

Daniel termed ``extremely conservative'' his estimate that it would produce 17 million dollars to help erase an anticipated deficit of 63 million dollars at the end of the current fiscal year next Aug. 31.

He told the committee the measure would merely provide means of enforcing the escheat law which has been on the books ``since Texas was a republic.'' It permits the state to take over bank accounts, stocks and other personal property of persons missing for seven years or more.

The bill, which Daniel said he drafted personally, would force banks, insurance firms, pipeline companies and other corporations to report such property to the state treasurer. The escheat law cannot be enforced now because it is almost impossible to locate such property, Daniel declared.

Dewey Lawrence, a Tyler lawyer representing the Texas Bankers Association, sounded the opposition keynote when he said it would force banks to violate their contractual obligations with depositors and undermine the confidence of bank customers.