Bank of America Corp is in talks with a group of six investors to settle charges that it mishandled $16.5 billion in mortgages packaged into bonds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The investor group, which includes Freddie Mac, PIMCO, BlackRock Inc and Allianz SE , told the bank in October that it had 60 days to respond to allegations that it did not properly service 115 bond deals comprising mortgages. The deadline for the bank's response was Thursday, the Journal said.

The settlement talks are a reversal for Bank of America. Chief Executive Brian Moynihan had promised to fight such requests and engage in hand-to-hand combat with investors, the Journal reported.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the bank said it agreed to an undefined extension of the Thursday deadline to continue constructive dialogue around the concerns raised.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Bank of america Mortgage Settlement