As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) moves to take a test vote on financial regulatory reform later Monday, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, predicted in a speech to the Independent Community Bankers of America that Republicans would stick together and vote against the bill.

“I believe 41 Republicans right now are going to stand together,” Shelby said. “I wish we would stand together, period. It would give us more negotiating authority and clout.”

“I’m continuing to work with Sen. Dodd to see if we can come up with a bipartisan, substantive bill that we can be proud of that will forever and ever as best we can end ‘too big to fail,'” he added, referencing Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

Shelby said that if the cloture vote fails, as he expects, it will show Republicans can stick together to express their many concerns about the bill.

In addition to working on a derivatives package, which Shelby said his staff is reviewing following some progress Sunday night by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Shelby said he was also working to tighten up language dealing with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve’s ability to lend money.