TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Jun 26, 2025

Tennessee’s Flex Loan law, passed in 2014, has allowed high-interest lenders to trap borrowers in cycles of debt through repeated reborrowing, despite earlier state laws banning such practices for payday loans, a new report concludes. In a joint reporting project between Tennessee Lookout and ProPublica, borrowers described being encouraged through frequent emails and mailers to borrow back almost all of their loan payments, leading to ballooning debts and eventual lawsuits, even after paying far more than they initially borrowed. Critics argue the Flex Loan law’s structure enables predatory lending with interest rates effectively reaching over 279% while avoiding federal oversight. The reporting also found that despite complaints, regulatory responses have been minimal and lenders have continued aggressive collection tactics.