Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is close to extending additional aid to Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, to help its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., the Wall Street Journal said today on its Web site, citing people familiar with the situation.

Details may be announced Jan. 20, the Journal said. Scott Silvestri, a spokesman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Mildenberg in Charlotte at dmildenberg@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 14, 2009 17:34 EST