Consumer Finance Monitor

The Future of Consumer Reporting with CDIA President Dan Smith

The consumer reporting system is undergoing rapid change, raising important questions for financial institutions, consumer reporting agencies, data furnishers, and consum

The Supreme Court Opinions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook: What Do They Mean for the Future of the Administrative State?

The Supreme Court's June 29, 2026 decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook raise fundamental questions about presidential power, the independence of federal agen

Consumer Financial Services Litigation Series - Episode 1: Pro Se Plaintiffs

Artificial intelligence is increasingly changing single‑plaintiff consumer litigation, particularly by enabling pro se plaintiffs to file longer, more citation‑dense comp

What Are Class Action Waivers Worth? A New Study Looks to the Stock Market for Answers

In the episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast released today, the host of the show, Alan Kaplinsky (founder, former leader for 25 years, and now Senior Counsel o

SpaceX's Novel Shareholder Dispute-Resolution Bylaws Could Have Far-Reaching Implications

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. Bu

AI in Debt Collection: Opportunities, Risks, and the Importance of Data Governance

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 (SA

The End of Shopping? Agentic AI and the Future of Consumer Financial Services Introduction

In the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast we are releasing today, Alan Kaplinsky, founder and former chair for 25 years and now Senior Counsel of the Consumer Financial Ser

The CFPB Needs Reform, But Not More Regulatory Whiplash

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 pol

Cantero II: Circuit Split and OCC Preemption Determination Set Up Likely Supreme Court Review

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, d

When Consumer Protection Disclosures Work Too Well: 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 t

The "Confidence Advantage": Why Privacy, Cybersecurity and AI Governance Are Becoming Business Imperatives

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 servic

CFPB's Immigration Status Guidance Creates a Compliance Catch-22 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

AI in Financial Services—Consumer Protection Challenges in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

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 Fin

New Institute for Consumer Financial Choice Seeks to Reshape the Consumer Finance Policy Debate

A newly launched academic institute is seeking to influence the future direction of consumer financial services regulation by promoting a policy framework centered on con

CFPB's Revised Section 1071 Rule: What Lenders Need to Know About the New Small Business Lending Reporting Requirements

In today's episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, we are pleased to present an audio version of the webinar we conducted on May 27, 2026 examining the CFPB's re

Agentic Commerce Is Coming—Will the Legal System Be Ready?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving from a tool that assists human decision-making into technology capable of acting independently. The next frontier, often refer

Risk-Based AML/CFT Reform: What Financial Institutions Need to Know About the Joint Banking Agency and FinCEN Proposals

The latest episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor podcast examines a significant and coordinated regulatory initiative that could reshape anti-money laundering and count

Cutting Out the Middleman: Why Fintechs, Crypto Firms, and Payments Companies Are Seeking Their Own Bank Charters - Part 2

At a May 19, 2026 Ballard Spahr webinar, "Cutting Out the Middleman: The Surge in FinTech Applications to Charter Banks, Industrial Banks and National Trust Companies," a

Cutting Out the Middleman: Why Fintechs, Crypto Firms, and Payments Companies Are Seeking Their Own Bank Charters - Part 1

At a May 19, 2026 Ballard Spahr webinar, "Cutting Out the Middleman: The Surge in FinTech Applications to Charter Banks, Industrial Banks and National Trust Companies," a

Coerced Debt: New York's Landmark Law and Emerging Trends Nationwide - Part 2

On May 12, 2026, we produced a 90-minute webinar in which we explored one of the most important and rapidly developing issues in consumer financial services law: coerced