H&R; Block to Sell Card Unit to Providian

H&R; Block Inc., the largest tax-preparation company in the U.S., said it will sell its credit card unit to Providian Financial Corp., exiting the card business. San Francisco-based Providian will buy H&R; Block’s $181-million WebCard Visa portfolio. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close Friday, weren’t disclosed. The credit cards were used by customers of H&R; Block’s former CompuServe online service. The company sold CompuServe to MCI WorldCom Inc. in February. Credit card issuers that aren’t among the biggest in the business have been selling card portfolios to larger competitors. Providian, the largest credit card lender to people with poor credit, has made a series of purchases in the past few months. In connection with its exit from the card business, H&R; Block will take a one-time charge of $15.4 million, or 16 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter ending this month. In New York Stock Exchange trading, Providian rose $2.31 to close at $91.94, and H&R; Block rose 25 cents to close at $43.25.