RPT-U.S. mortgage bond issuance falls in 2007

NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage-backed securities issuance totaled $922.1 billion in 2007, down from $1.052 trillion a year ago, Thomson Financial said on Monday.

Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was the top underwriter of U.S. mortgage-backed securities for 2007, maintaining its year-ago status, the financial data firm said.

Lehman Brothers underwrote 111 issues of mortgage-backed bonds, totaling $95.8 billion, a 10.4 percent market share.