The
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
is probing
. over its relationship to bankrupt auto-parts supplier
, according to the Financial Times.
The watchdog is seeking information about whether the bank gave investors in its Point Bonita fund sufficient disclosures about its exposure to First Brands, the FT said, citing two people it didn’t identify.
The SEC is also looking into internal controls
and potential conflicts within and between different parts of Jefferies, according to the newspaper.
Representatives for Jefferies and SEC declined to comment. The FT said the SEC inquiry is at an early stage and it is not clear whether it will result in any allegations of wrongdoing.
Jefferies shares have tumbled since it disclosed its exposure to First Brands. At Point Bonita, a unit of Jefferies’ Leucadia Asset Management, about a quarter of the US$3 billion portfolio was tied to so-called trade finance agreements running through First Brands. The bank also helped First Brands sell a significant chunk of its long-term loans over the past decade.
—With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres.