ConFi Today 2026: The $12 Billion Handoff

Private Student Lending After the Federal Retreat

Webinar | November.11.2026 | 1pm - 2pm (Eastern Standard Time)

Virtual

Join Orrick for a timely conversation about a new consumer asset class taking shape. The closure of Grad PLUS and new federal borrowing caps have opened an estimated $10–12 billion annual funding gap in graduate education. In its place, the federal government is deregulating the industry and re-regulating the borrower, and the states are doing the opposite. Volume and risk are arriving together. This session will follow the dollar from origination through funding, servicing and collections, and look at where the regulatory and enforcement risk is likely to land, including what the midterm results may mean for congressional scrutiny of the industry.

Topics will include:

How the handoff happened: OBBBA's borrowing caps, the new Repayment Assistance Plan, resumed involuntary collections and the "professional degree" rulemaking that decides who becomes a private-market borrower
Origination at scale: running TILA and Regulation Z private education loan disclosures, school channel arrangements, fair lending and cosigner practices
The state layer: servicer licensing and exams, private education lender statutes and state attorney general enforcement, plus collections risk on both the federal and private sides
After the midterms: what to expect from congressional inquiries into student lending, and how to prepare for them
The reckoning ahead: why the exam holiday is not a risk holiday, including the statute of limitations math, complaint data and 2028 scenarios

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Registration is closed to law firms, press and government employees.

About ConFi Today

The 2026 ConFi Today webinar series explores the dynamic legal, policymaking and competitive landscape for financial services institutions, fintechs and funds active in this space.

On the second Wednesday of each month, members of Orrick’s Financial & Fintech Advisory team lead in-depth conversations that bring together insights from legal, regulatory and business leaders for a timely look at the challenges and opportunities facing the consumer finance industry.

Events

Contacts

Lisa Lanham Partner, Financial & Fintech Advisory, Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

Miami

See my bio

D:+1 305 913 1943
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Financial & Fintech Advisory
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)
Consumer Finance Regulatory
Payments
Fintech

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Lisa Lanham Partner

Miami

Nationally recognized by The Legal 500 for Financial Services Regulatory and Fintech, she is sought out by clients ranging from early-stage fintechs to Fortune 100 institutions for her ability to translate regulatory complexity into actionable strategies that balance compliance with business growth.

Lisa’s practice spans both primary and secondary markets, where she assists clients navigating licensing, compliance and capital markets transactions across industries. She brings a client-centered, business-minded approach to matters ranging from regulatory structuring to mergers and acquisitions advisory of regulated institutions.

Areas of Focus

Consumer and Commercial Finance Regulation. Lisa has deep experience advising consumer and commercial finance companies—including mortgage lenders and servicers, auto finance companies, personal lenders, sales finance companies, marketplace/fintech lenders, hedge funds, private equity funds, family offices and Wall Street institutions—on licensing, compliance and operational requirements. She counsels on federal consumer protection laws (TILA/Reg Z, RESPA/Reg X, ECOA/Reg B, FDCPA and UDAAP) and their state law counterparts, as well as state retail installment sales acts, usury restrictions, fair lending obligations and servicing standards. On the commercial side, she regularly counsels clients structuring real estate financing, equipment leasing, factoring and supply chain finance products.
Money Transmission and Payments. Lisa guides fintechs, payment companies, digital wallet providers, virtual currency businesses and international remittance operators through money transmitter licensing, compliance and examination matters. She counsels on state licensing requirements, exemptions and reporting obligations, and assists in structuring partnerships with banks, payment processors and marketplace platforms.
Fintech, Emerging Platforms and Renewable Energy. Lisa advises fintechs and emerging platforms on embedded finance, co-branded card programs, point-of-sale financing, “buy now, pay later” structures and AI-driven underwriting models. She also counsels solar and renewable energy companies on financing-related licensing obligations and operational licensing requirements, including general contractor, electrical contractor and door-to-door sales licensing across multistate regulatory frameworks.
Structured Finance and Capital Markets. Lisa represents clients in structured finance transactions—including securitizations and other structured finance vehicles—as well as capital markets transactions, with a focus on the regulatory licensing and compliance issues that impact deal structure and execution. She helps clients address state law lending and servicing restrictions in connection with securitizations, warehouse lines and secondary market transfers.
M&A Advisory for Regulated Institutions. Lisa handles mergers, acquisitions and investments involving regulated institutions across the consumer finance, commercial finance, money transmission and payments sectors. She advises on licensing and regulatory approvals, change of control requirements, due diligence and integration planning to ensure that transactions proceed smoothly and without regulatory surprises.

Jeffrey Naimon Partner, Financial & Fintech Advisory, Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

Washington, D.C.

See my bio

D:+1 202 349 8030
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Financial & Fintech Advisory
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)
Fintech

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Jeffrey Naimon Partner

Washington, D.C.

He defends financial services companies facing complex examination or enforcement matters before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and federal and state banking regulators, with a focus on fair lending, unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices (UDAAP), loan servicing, privacy and credit reporting, debt collection, servicemember protections and other consumer protection issues.

He assists banks and nonbanks (including fintech entities) structure, negotiate and operate a variety of partnerships, outsourcing programs and other third-party arrangements, including performing due diligence, negotiating transactions and advising on ongoing oversight protocols to meet regulatory expectations for third-party arrangements.

Jeff also assists in negotiating acquisition, capital markets and servicing transactions, advising on how best to structure the transaction to reduce risk and expedite deal closure, performing due diligence and assisting in obtaining the necessary change of control and other regulatory approvals.

Jeff is consistently recognized as a leading lawyer in Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) in Chambers USA, which praised him for his "extremely high intellect regarding compliance matters and negotiation skills. There's none better at arguing a disputed point." He is also a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers.

He currently serves as the Co-chair of the Professional Development Task Force and previously served as Co-chair (2011-2013) and Co-vice Chair (2008-2010) of the Truth in Lending Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee and has authored numerous articles on consumer financial services.

Prior to joining Orrick, Jeff was a partner at Buckley LLP.

Noah N. Gillespie Counsel, Financial & Fintech Advisory, Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)

Washington, D.C.

See my bio

D:+1 202 339 8569
E: [email protected]

Practice:

Financial & Fintech Advisory
Strategic Advisory & Government Enforcement (SAGE)
Payments
Blockchain & Digital Assets
Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation

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Noah N. Gillespie Counsel

Washington, D.C.

Clients turn to Noah when developing new products and services across payments, consumer and business lending, real estate and PropTech, cryptocurrency and digital assets and artificial intelligence. He often engages in the early stages of product planning and development, when businesses have the greatest flexibility to address legal and regulatory considerations without limiting innovation. Working in both English and Spanish, Noah also has a particular focus on helping foreign companies enter the U.S. market and advising businesses on the consumer financial, privacy and regulatory considerations that accompany new products and services.

Across his practice, Noah counsels clients on the full spectrum of consumer financial product design, payments, privacy and artificial intelligence. He brings a business-focused approach to applying established legal frameworks to rapidly evolving technologies, helping clients identify regulatory risk, evaluate available options and develop practical paths forward.

Previously, Noah served as Senior Counsel in the Legal Division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he worked directly with the agency’s general counsel on complex and emerging issues in consumer finance. He advised divisions across the CFPB on supervision, rulemaking and enforcement activities and spearheaded the Bureau’s work on data privacy, including the intersection of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and state privacy laws. Noah also advised on the scope of the CFPB’s authority, unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices (UDAAP) and the more than 20 federal consumer financial laws administered by the Bureau.

Areas of Focus

Product Design and Market Entry. Bringing new products to market by identifying where consumer financial law, privacy law and AI governance will constrain a design and presenting options that center business choice, purpose and values.
Artificial Intelligence and Responsible Innovation. Advising regulated entities how to harness the potential of AI while observing their regulatory obligations, including model governance, explainability, fair lending exposure and the documentation a supervisory exam will expect to review.
Consumer Financial Data and Privacy. Advising businesses on how to leverage customer data – including data monetization, data sharing arrangements and vendor structures – while respecting privacy law and user expectations at the intersection of the GLBA and state privacy law.
Federal Consumer Financial Law and UDAAP. Advising on federal consumer protection laws – including the GLBA, RESPA, EFTA, FCRA, TILA and ECOA – and on the UDAAP doctrines he applied while at the CFPB.
Government Investigations, Supervision and Enforcement. Defending companies and individuals in government investigations, supervisory exams, enforcement and cross-border investigations to minimize disruption and protect the business’s reputation.
Transactional Support for Regulated Entities. Supporting deal teams on transactions involving regulated entities, to satisfy regulatory requirements, address consumer financial law and data diligence and streamline change-in-control government approvals.

ConFi Today 2026: The $12 Billion Handoff

About ConFi Today

Events

ConFi Today 2026 Kickoff

ConFi Today 2026: BNPL and EWA – Navigating Product Innovation and the Regulatory Response

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