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Washington Roundup

SEC targets advisers who lie on registration forms
The Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on investment advisers who exaggerate or incorrectly describe their education or experience on registration forms. "If they come face to face with inspectors early on ... they're going to know that we're watching, and they're going to be unlikely to graduate to larger frauds," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. InvestmentNews (free registration)(11/16)

Regulatory team will enforce Basel III globally, Ingves says
Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, said a team of regulators will enforce Basel III capital and liquidity rules worldwide. Financial Times(tiered subscription model)(11/16)

OCC urges Congress to change reference to credit ratings in rules
John Walsh, the acting comptroller of the currency, wants Congress to tweak a Dodd-Frank provision that he said is complicating efforts to implement global rules. The clause requires regulators to remove references to credit ratings in its rules. "We have been talking to Congress and other agencies about the need for some sort of very modest fix to Dodd-Frank that turns a ‘you may never' into a ‘you may, in limited circumstances.' Eventually, that's where we have to be," Walsh said. Risk.net(subscription required)(11/17)

Bundesbank official warns of Basel III consequences
Andreas Dombret of Germany's Bundesbank said global regulators need to ensure Basel III rules do not drive activities into the shadow-banking sector. "Undoubtedly, we have to act fast, as the stricter rules imposed on banks via Basel III and the rules for systemically important financial institutions clearly pose the risk of activities being shifted to less-regulated areas," he said. "We must not allow risky behavior previously taken on by banks to be pushed into the dark." Reuters(11/15), FinancialCAD (Canada)(11/15)

Morgan Stanley to settle SEC's mutual fund claims
Morgan Stanley Investment Management agreed to pay $3.3 million to settle claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission that its supervision of an outside adviser was "wholly inadequate." The SEC said the Morgan Stanley unit told the Malaysia Fund that a third-party adviser would provide advice, but the adviser did not. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)(11/17), Reuters(11/16), MarketWatch(11/16)