H&R Block Delays Bank Sale as Regulatory Snags Persist

H&R Block in Kansas City, Mo., and BofI Holding in San Diego have pushed back the closing date for transferring ownership of H&R Block Bank.

H&R Block disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that the closing date had been extended to June 30 from April 30. The company also pushed back the deadline for either company to terminate the deal to July 31 from May 31.

The deal was announced last April, but the companies warned six month later that they would not receive regulatory approval in 2014. In addition to buying H&R Block Bank, BofI agreed to serve as the bank for the tax-preparation company's financial services products, including prepaid debit and credit cards.

H&R Block originally agreed to sell its Kansas City 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.