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The latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast being released today tackles one of the most consequential developments in bank–fintech litigation in recent years: the Los Angeles Superior Court’s tentative decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett (read more here). This case squarely addresses the long-debated “true lender” doctrine which has for decades bedeviled banks and Fintechs and “bricks and mortar” non-banks that have entered into joint ventures with one another to engage in interstate lending programs which take advantage of interest rate exportation rights afforded to banks.… Continue Reading

In Episode 3 of our Debt Sales 101 mini-series, we discuss who buys charged-off debt and how debt sale transactions are typically structured. We explain how different buyers specialize in different asset classes and how buyers evaluate portfolios from legal, regulatory, and commercial perspectives.

From a buyer’s perspective, purchasing debt is not just a credit decision.… Continue Reading

On April 23, we will release a timely and wide-ranging episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast featuring Sam Levine, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). In this episode, Commissioner Levine offers an inside look at how New York City is stepping up its consumer protection efforts at a moment of significant diminishment at the federal level, particularly the CFPB.  … Continue Reading

In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky is joined by colleagues Pilar French and Burt Rublin to unpack a rapidly evolving issue at the intersection of bank–FinTech partnerships and interstate lending: the renewed exercise of state opt-out authority under Section 525 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA).… Continue Reading

We are pleased to share a notable milestone for the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast: for the first time, a leading industry publication “Inside the CFPB” has written about one of our episodes.

In its April 6, 2026 issue, “Inside the CFPB,” a widely read subscription publication published by “Inside Mortgage Finance Publications” highlighted our recent podcast episode released on April 2, 2026 featuring discussion of emerging regulatory developments in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) space.… Continue Reading

In Episode 2 of our Debt Sales 101 mini-series, we move from the “why” behind debt sales to the “what.” Specifically, we discuss what types of debt can be sold, how portfolios are typically composed, and the legal and regulatory considerations that determine whether debt is appropriate for sale.

Not all debt is equally marketable, and not all accounts within a portfolio carry the same legal, regulatory, or operational risk.… Continue Reading

Ballard Spahr is pleased to announce that Adam Maarec, a member of the Consumer Financial Services Group, has been admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, a prestigious, invitation-only organization that recognizes preeminent lawyers in the field of consumer financial services law.

The College is widely regarded as the leading professional association in this area.… Continue Reading

We’re pleased to announce that our latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast is now live, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.

In this episode, our host Alan Kaplinsky, founder, Chair for 25 years, and now Senior Counsel of our Consumer Financial Services Group, is joined by Max Dubin, Chief of Staff to the Acting Superintendent of Banking at the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS).… Continue Reading

We are pleased to release Episode 1 of our new podcast mini-series, Debt Sales 101. In this first episode, we start with the fundamentals and discuss what a debt sale is, how these transactions are structured, and why companies choose to sell debt.

Debt sales are often discussed in simple terms, but in practice they sit at the intersection of business strategy, legal structure, and regulatory compliance.… Continue Reading

In today’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Show, our host, Ballard Spahr’s Alan Kaplinsky, was joined by colleagues Steven Burt and Melanie Vartabedian to explore a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex area of consumer financial services: residential solar finance.

Building on prior discussions of the broader solar finance landscape, this episode zeroes in on the regulatory and litigation developments that are reshaping the residential solar market in real time.… Continue Reading