Federal agencies regulating mortgage servicers and other financial products will not "double-team" companies who fall short of the law, the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Thursday.

Some businesses had feared that the FTC, which will share jurisdiction with the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in some areas, would both investigate offenses, potentially along with state attorneys general.

The CFPB will issue rules — as yet unspecified — regulating financial products like credit cards and mortgages. The FTC enforces laws against unfair or deceptive practices in lending, loan servicing, debt collection and related areas.

"My sense is that your fears will turn out to be unfounded," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in remarks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"My strong sense is that neither agency will have the time to double team legitimate businesses," he said.
Instead, Leibowitz said, the agency would work to "weed out the crooks and the scam artists."

About 60 people at the FTC do work that will now be done by the CFPB, although the agency says it does not anticipate losing any of its budget.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is being set up by the Treasury Department, does not yet have a director and won’t be up and running until July.

Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law School professor who pushed for its creation, has said its goal would be to make mortgage documents, financial prospectuses and credit card information easier to understand.

Banks and others in the financial industry have battled the creation of the bureau, and Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have promised to attempt to restrict its power by trying, among other things, to make its annual budget subject to congressional approval. (Reuters)