Plain Green Loans is an online payday loan business owned by the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. It is known for its high annualized interest rates of up to 379 percent and its activities are considered to be challenging "the ability of state regulators to enforce the loan market to police caps and other consumer protection measures," while raising questions in regard to tribal sovereignty.
History
In February 2012, a coalition of Indian tribes welcomed a Colorado court ruling that tribal immunity has no territorial boundaries.
In 2011, Plain Green Loans issued over 121,000 loans. Because the Chippewa Cree Tribe is a sovereign nation which enjoys tribal immunity, it is not subject to state laws which seek to prevent usury by regulating high-interest lending.
In 2014, several members of the tribe were convicted of illegally siphoning seven percent of the company's revenues which totaled $25 million over a three-year period.
Plain Green has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau"