"True Lender" Doctrine Back in the Spotlight: Key Takeaways on OppFi v. Hewlett Tentative California Superior Opinion

About this episode

This episode discusses the Los Angeles Superior Court's tentative decision in Opportunity Financial, LLC v. Hewlett, focusing on the true lender doctrine and its implications for bank-fintech partnerships.

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. After applying application California and federal law, the Court granted summary judgment to OppFi and against the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) which unsuccessfully maintained that OppFi is the true lender and not OppFi's partner, FinWise Bank. In this episode, host Alan Kaplinsky, founder and former chair of the Consumer Financial Services Group and now Senior Counsel, is joined by two leading voices with sharply contrasting perspectives: Professor Emeritus Arthur Wilmarth, a prominent critic of bank–fintech partnerships, and Ballard Spahr…

People in this episode

Host: Alan Kaplinsky

Guests: Arthur Wilmarth, Ron Vaske

Topics covered

• True Lender Doctrine
• bank-fintech litigation
• Opportunity Financial v. Hewlett
• California law
• financial regulation

Keywords

• California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
• summary judgment
• interstate lending
• interest rate exportation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Opportunity Financial, FinWise Bank

Places: California, Utah

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