Raleigh, N.C. ? Managers of three state pension funds with holdings in H&R Block Inc. urged the financial company Tuesday to reform its practice of giving high-interest loans in anticipation of federal tax refunds.

North Carolina treasurer Richard Moore, New York comptroller Alan Hevesi and Connecticut treasurer Denise Nappier, plan to discuss their concerns with H&R Block’s board of directors.

The states hold 1.6 million shares of H&R Block stock, about 0.5 percent of the company’s 322 million outstanding shares. North Carolina’s retirement system holds more than $7 million worth of H&R Block stock, according to the treasurer’s office.

The company awards so-called refund-anticipation loans to customers set to receive a federal tax refund. The loans generally last about 10 days before the refund arrives and can carry annualized interest rates as high as 700 percent, Moore said.

About 79 percent of all people who use the loans are low-income, Moore added.

Kate O’Neill Rauber, a spokeswoman for Kansas City, Mo.-based H&R Block, said Moore did not voice his concerns directly to the company until after his news conference Tuesday. A company executive will meet with the group about the loans, she said. Rauber also noted that H&R Block is one of 800 businesses in North Carolina that work with refund loans.

“We don’t have any idea why he is targeting H&R Block,” Rauber said.