The ratings agencies came under plenty of well-deserved fire in the fallout from the subprime debacle. Basically, the problem was that ratings agencies had been treating mortgage-backed securities as solid investments. When the market imploded, serious questions were asked about their collusion and the conflicts of interest that come when you get paid huge fees by the issuers.

Now the Securities and Exchange Commission has announced it's tightening procedures in line with the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006. Basically, they have been classified as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO), which means they will have to provide information about how they assigned the ratings.

"The Commission's newly-granted oversight of credit rating agencies will protect investors and enhance the reliability of credit ratings by fostering accountability, transparency, and competition in the credit rating industry," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

Yeah right! All that does is make sure the agencies have adequate disclosures. It's not going to protect investors. It's not like the SEC is coming in to check the opinions of the agencies.

All the SEC is doing is poking the agencies with a soft cushion. As SEC commissioner Annette Nazareth told CFO.com, it won't make the ratings agencies smarter and faster.

In the end, all this exercise does is make the politicians look like they're doing something.

"This is an opportunity for politicians to condemn the people who have been involved in subprime. But it won't amount to an improvement in the quality of the rating process," Sylvain Raynes, a principal at R&R Consulting, a valuation advisory firm told CNNMoney.com.