Jefferies Fund has $715 million in top brand commercial debt

An asset manager controlled by a unit of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has sunk nearly a quarter of its $3 billion trade finance portfolio in receivables tied to auto parts supplier First Brands Group Inc., the bank revealed Wednesday.

Point Bonita Capital’s portfolio has about $715 million invested in receivables owed by First Brands customers, including Walmart Inc. and AutoZone Inc., with the auto parts supplier tasked with directing payments to Point Bonita, Jefferies said in a statement. Problems with the receivables emerged on September 15 as the company stopped making these payments.