OTHER NEWS - March 3, 1994

SEC Chief Faults Inequities in Regulation: Banks that sell mutual funds are not subject to the same regulations as securities firms, and that’s bad for investors and perhaps for the overall economy, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel, which is reviewing the planned merger of mutual fund Dreyfus Corp. and Mellon Bank Corp. With the merger, Mellon and its affiliates would be the largest mutual fund investment adviser, managing $76.8 billion in mutual fund assets. But Levitt noted that federal law exempts banks from the rules that cover brokers and investment advisers, including SEC inspections.