UPDATE 1-No primary dealer borrowed from Fed facility in wk

(Adds analysts' comments, regional numbers on discount window borrowing, byline)

By John Parry

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Primary dealers borrowed nothing in the latest week from a Federal Reserve facility to provide cheap money, which surprised some analysts who had been watching to see if embattled investment bank Lehman Brothers would resort to this funding.

Primary dealers borrowed zero from the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, the same as the week before, Fed data showed on Thursday. The PDCF is one of several programs the Fed has introduced to provide cheap financing to financial institutions crimped by the credit crisis.

In the wake of the government's weekend seizure of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N), investors have turned their gaze to investment bank Lehman Brothers LEH.N, whose shares have fallen steeply as the bank searches for much-needed capital as its mortgage losses mount.

"I was fairly surprised that we didn't see any borrowing from the PDCF," said Michael Feroli, U.S. economist with JPMorgan in New York.

Lehman's "very public problems are why it would have been an absolute last resort (to borrow from the PDCF). Because of the market tensions, news of positive PDCF borrowings simply would have heightened concerns," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City.

U.S. banks' direct borrowing from the Federal Reserve at the discount window rose in the latest week.

Banks' discount window borrowings averaged $19.89 billion per day in the week ended Sept. 10, versus an average $19.07 billion per day the week before.

Among borrowings from each regional Federal Reserve bank district, discount window borrowings in the New York district rose to $12.08 billion in the latest week from $12.03 billion the previous week. Discount window borrowings in the Cleveland district rose to $3.35 billion from zero the previous week. Borrowings in the San Francisco district rose to $4.04 billion from $3.92 billion the week before.

Primary credit borrowings averaged $19.80 billion per day in the latest week, versus $18.98 billion the previous week.

The portfolio of Bear Stearns assets held by holding company Maiden Lane LLC was at $29.33 billion as of Wednesday Sept. 10, versus $29.29 billion on Sept. 3. (Reporting by John Parry; Editing by James Dalgleish)