By Dan Wilchins

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - If Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc LEH.N were to sell its asset management business, any impact on its debt ratings would likely be minimal, analysts at Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service said on Friday.

Media reports in recent weeks have said that Lehman may look to sell its asset management business, most recently a CNBC report on Friday.

Asset management businesses generate relatively steady earnings for investment banks. Those steady earnings are a positive for credit ratings that are based in part on how likely a company is to generate the cash flow to pay its debt.

In the case of Lehman, its asset management business is relatively small.

"They've done very well with the business, but it's not of sufficient size or scale to offset volatility for the rest of the business," said Eileen Fahey, analyst at Fitch.

"I can't say for sure it wouldn't have any impact on ratings," Fahey added.

Asset management, which includes the Neuberger Berman business Lehman bought in 2003, generated about $1.88 billion of net revenue in 2007, compared with Lehman's total revenue of $19.3 billion.

"It's a contributor to earnings, but it's not that large," said Blaine Frantz, the lead analyst on Lehman at Moody's Investors Service.