BofI, H&R Block Disclose Regulatory Delay for Bank Transfer

H&R Block, for the second time in a year, is finding it challenging to get out of banking.

The consumer tax services provider disclosed Sunday that the regulatory approval process required for selling certain assets and deposits of its H&R Block Bank to BofI Holding in San Diego will not be completed this year. As a result, the company said it expects the bank to keep offering financial products services to its clients during the upcoming tax season.

"We are extremely disappointed with this development," Bill Cobb, H&R Block's president and chief executive, said in a press release. "However, we remain committed to exiting our bank and forming a long-term relationship with BofI."

"We remain committed to forming a long-term relationship with H&R Block," Greg Garrabrants, BofI's president and chief executive, said in a separate press release. "While the regulatory approval process has taken longer than expected, we are encouraged by the progress made to date."

The companies did not disclose what is delaying the regulatory approval process.

BofI agreed to buy certain assets and deposits in a deal announced in April. As part of the deal, BofI agreed to serve as the bank for H&R Block-branded financial services.

H&R Block originally agreed to sell its Kansas, City, Mo., bank to Republic Bancorp in July 2013, but the deal collapsed three months later because of regulators' apparent concerns about the mixing of banking and tax-refund processing.