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The SpaceX IPO generated enormous attention for obvious reasons. It was the largest IPO in history, and the company’s stock price initially surged after trading began. But an important legal development associated with the IPO has received considerably less attention: SpaceX adopted an unusually comprehensive shareholder dispute-resolution regime (the “Regime”) in its bylaws.… Continue Reading

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming consumer financial services, and consumer debt collection is no exception. AI already is being used in a variety of first-party and third-party consumer debt collection activities, ranging from account scoring and communication strategies to payment-plan optimization and compliance monitoring.

In our Consumer Finance Monitor podcast show being released today, our special guest John McNamara, Chief Growth Officer at Avtal (a fintech and software as a service (SAS) company that provides an AI-powered, white-labeled digital engagement platform to help third-party consumer debt collection agencies automate communication and process self-service payments) and  a former CFPB senior official who played a significant role in developing Regulation F promulgated under the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act explained that the debt collection industry needs to distinguish genuine AI applications from the marketing hype surrounding the technology.… Continue Reading

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from helping consumers make purchasing decisions to making those decisions for them. So-called “agentic AI” or “AI shopping agents” could search for financial products, compare prices and terms, negotiate with providers, open or close accounts, switch providers and complete transactions without the consumer participating in each step.… Continue Reading

The future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has rarely been more uncertain. Since its creation, the CFPB has been at the center of intense political and policy debate, with its priorities changing dramatically as administrations change. The events of the past year or so under the leadership of Acting Directors chosen by President Trump, however, have taken that policy whiplash to a new level.… Continue Reading

First and Ninth Circuit decisions conflict with the Second Circuit, while the OCC has concluded that state escrow-interest laws are preempted

National bank preemption is headed toward another Supreme Court showdown. The Second Circuit has held that New York’s mortgage escrow-interest requirement is preempted, directly conflicting with the First Circuit’s decision upholding a comparable Rhode Island requirement and the Ninth Circuit’s decision allowing a similar California law to remain in effect.… Continue Reading

New Podcast Explores the Distributional Costs of Effective Consumer Regulation

Disclosure has long been one of the principal tools of consumer protection. The basic premise seems straightforward: if consumers are given better information about the terms of a transaction, they should be able to make better-informed decisions.

But what if better disclosure works differently for different consumers?… Continue Reading

In the latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast that we are releasing today, we explore a topic that is becoming increasingly important for financial services companies and virtually every other business operating in today’s digital economy: how privacy, cybersecurity, and AI governance can be transformed from compliance obligations into sources of customer confidence, resilience, and competitive advantage.… Continue Reading

CFPB guidance on ability to repay, immigration status, and fair lending creates a difficult compliance dilemma for creditors.

The CFPB’s June 5, 2026 statement on “Ability to Repay and Immigration Status” presents creditors with a difficult, and potentially unprecedented, compliance dilemma. The Bureau says that when creditors are required to assess a consumer’s ability to repay, they may, and in some circumstances may be required to, consider information about the consumer’s immigration status if that information bears on the consumer’s current or reasonably expected future income.… Continue Reading

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming consumer financial services. AI systems now influence decisions involving credit underwriting, fraud detection, customer service, pricing, marketing, and even personalized financial advice. While these technologies promise greater efficiency and innovation, they also raise profound questions about transparency, fairness, accountability, and consumer protection. 

In today’s episode of the award-winning Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, our host, Alan Kaplinsky (founder, chair for 25 years and now Senior Counsel of the Consumer Financial Services Group at Ballard Spahr LLP) is joined by Delicia Hand, a nationally recognized expert on digital civil rights, AI governance, and consumer protection who leads AI policy initiatives at Consumer Reports.… Continue Reading

A newly launched academic institute is seeking to influence the future direction of consumer financial services regulation by promoting a policy framework centered on consumer choice, market competition, empirical research, and innovation. In the podcast we are releasing today on Consumer Finance Monitor, our host Alan Kaplinsky (founder, former chair for 25 years and now senior counsel) interviewed Professors Todd Zywicki of George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and Tom Miller of Mississippi State University about their newly created Institute for Consumer Financial Choice (ICFC), its mission, and its ambitious agenda.… Continue Reading