NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N will wind down its First Franklin subprime mortgage lending unit, responding to continued deterioration in U.S. mortgage markets, business news channel CNBC reported on Thursday.

The move could result in the elimination of 400 to 500 jobs, CNBC reported.

Merrill Lynch declined comment.

Merrill Lynch bought First Franklin from Cleveland-based bank National City Corp NCC.N in December 2006 for $1.3 billion, just before the subprime mortgage market began to collapse. (Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)