Plain Green Loans Is No Longer Operating

What Was Plain Green Loans?

Plain Green, LLC was a consumer installment lending company organized under the laws of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in Montana. It offered small personal installment loans online, typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, at very high APRs.

Plain Green was one of the tribal lending brands operated in a partnership arrangement with Think Finance, a financial technology company that provided servicing, marketing, and technology infrastructure. The tribal origination structure was intended to shield the loans from state interest rate caps.

What Happened to Plain Green?

• Courts in multiple states ruled that the tribal sovereignty model used by Plain Green did not exempt the loans from state consumer protection laws. Vermont and West Virginia were among the states that successfully pursued enforcement.
• In 2017, Think Finance filed for bankruptcy, destabilizing the operational infrastructure behind Plain Green.
• Class action lawsuits resulted in settlements in which qualifying borrowers received forgiveness of outstanding loan balances and refunds of payments above the principal originally borrowed.
• Plain Green ceased originating new loans as the tribal lending model collapsed under regulatory and legal pressure.

What Former Borrowers Should Know

• If you had a Plain Green loan and paid more than the principal, you may have been entitled to a refund under class action settlement terms. Check with your state attorney general or the CFPB for information on settlement distributions.
• If a debt collector contacts you about an old Plain Green loan, verify whether the debt is legally enforceable in your state before making any payment. Many of these loans were found to be void under state law.
• Any credit report entries from Plain Green can be disputed if they are inaccurate or relate to loans found to be unenforceable.