Billions of Dollars 'Vanished': Low-Profile Bankruptcy Rings Alarms on Wall Street

[Omaha Steve]

http://archive.today/GsWAs

The unraveling of First Brands, a midsize auto-parts maker, is exposing hidden losses at international banks and “private credit” lenders.

Rob Copeland

By Rob Copeland
Oct. 10, 2025

When First Brands, an auto-parts maker, filed for bankruptcy late last month, it was not the sort of event that would typically draw attention in the world’s financial capitals.

A midsize manufacturer of pumps, filters and other under-the-hood products sold at retailers like AutoZone and Walmart, the company had expanded in recent years and had, it would appear, simply grown too quickly.

But now, the company is at the center of swirling milieu on Wall Street and beyond over the loans that fueled its rise and the questionable accounting, some of its creditors say, that preceded the fall.

Some well-known firms in international finance have been swept up in the fallout from company’s collapse, in some combination of losses, finger-pointing and embarrassment at having missed the signs of danger. That group includes Jefferies, the New York investment bank that arranged much of First Brands’ financing; UBS, the Swiss bank that provided a big chunk of the money; and BlackRock, which funneled money to an intermediary that lent it to the company.

FULL story at link above.


First Brands expanded rapidly over the past decade by buying 15 competitors, including brands like the spark plug maker Autolite.Credit...Bloomberg