WASHINGTON (AP) – Two government watchdogs that oversee consumer finance have inked a deal to avoid burdening businesses with overlapping regulations.

The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission said Monday that they will meet regularly, keep each other informed about their activities, share consumer complaints and cooperate when writing new rules.

The CFPB was created as part of the 2010 overhaul of financial rules. It became the primary enforcer of consumer-protection rules that used to fall under the FTC. Many had faulted the FTC for failing to curb abuses by mortgage companies and others before the 2008 financial crisis.

Critics of the new agency say that it will increase costs to businesses and create confusion by adding an extra regulator. Monday's agreement aims to prevent that.

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