But the fees earned by the big securities firms were, surprisingly, not as high as last year's. With a record 12,461 issues underwritten in 1997, the total amount of fees charged by the firms was $8.43 billion. Last year's reported fees earned by securities firms topped $9 billion.

Securities Data attributed the lower fees to two factors: increased competition for corporate underwritings by U.S. and international commercial banks that own brokerage firms and fewer "initial public offerings" of shares than in 1996. Brokerage firms pocket fees equal to more than 7 percent, on average, of proceeds raised by companies selling shares for the first time.

But don't cry for any of the Wall Street firms or their employees. The firms are expected to dole out bonuses worth billions of dollars in the next few weeks following one of the best years ever for the stock market. In addition to the record year for underwriting, firms racked up big fees for advising on a deluge of merger deals and for executing stock and bond trades for investors.