Fram is part of First Brands Group. (Fram)
October 8, 2025 9:11 AM, EDT
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A fund controlled by a unit of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. sunk nearly a quarter of its $3 billion trade finance portfolio into receivables tied to auto parts supplier First Brands Group Inc.
Jefferies’ own investment in that fund along with some First Brands loans it bought brings its total exposure to the now-bankrupt firm to $161 million, the bank disclosed on Oct. 8.
The exposure is mostly through Point Bonita Capital, a division of Jefferies’ Leucadia Asset Management, which manages trade-finance assets on behalf of third-party institutional and other investors. Leucadia has a $113 million equity stake in that fund, according to a statement.
Point Bonita’s portfolio has about $715 million invested in receivables due by First Brands’ customers including Walmart Inc. and AutoZone Inc., with the auto parts supplier responsible for directing payments to Point Bonita, Jefferies said. Problems with the receivables emerged on Sept. 15 as the company stopped making these payments.
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Walmart ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America, and No. 1 on the wholesale/retailers list. AutoZone ranks No. 13 on the wholesale/retailers list.
READ MORE:Â First Brands Probes Billions of Off-Balance Sheet Financing
The disclosure reveals more about Jefferies’ ties with First Brands, a supplier of wiper blades and oil filters that filed for bankruptcy last week after a debt refinancing was derailed by investor scrutiny. Jefferies had been marketing the refinancing for the company, and many of Wall Street’s biggest names have faced losses on their exposure to First Brands.
Court documents from earlier this month showed funds under the UBS Group AG umbrella face more than half a billion dollars of exposure to the auto supplier.
It’s the latest blowup in the murky world of trade finance, a sector that has been hit by numerous frauds in recent years, often leaving banks and insurers facing losses. The biggest bust in the industry came in 2021, when Greensill Capital filed for insolvency after channeling bank deposits and insurance funds into short-term loans to risky companies, ultimately contributing to the collapse of Credit Suisse Group AG.
Jefferies noted that First Brands has indicated in bankruptcy filings that its special advisers were investigating whether receivables had been turned over to third-party factors upon receipt and whether receivables may have been factored more than once.
Jefferies also disclosed exposure to First Brands through Apex Credit Partners, in which it owns a 50% stake. Apex held about $48 million of loans to First Brands through CLO vehicles, the bank said.
