  If $G$ is a solvable group and $p$ is a prime, then the Fong-Swan theorem
shows that given any irreducible Brauer character $\phi$ of $G$, there exists a
character $\chi \in \irrg$ such that $\chi^o = \phi$, where $^o$ denotes the
restriction of $\chi$ to the $p$-regular elements of $G$. We say that $\chi$ is
a {\it{lift}} of $\phi$ in this case. It is known that if $\phi$ is in a block
with abelian defect group $D$, then the number of lifts of $\phi$ is bounded
above by $|D|$. In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for
this bound to be achieved, in terms of local information in a subgroup $V$
determined by the block $B$. We also apply these methods to examine the
situation when equality occurs in the $k(B)$ conjecture for blocks of solvable
groups with abelian defect group.
