Oct 8 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies

disclosed on Wednesday that its Leucadia Asset Management fund

holds about $715 million in receivables linked to bankrupt

auto-parts maker First Brands Group.

First Brands filed for bankruptcy protection late last

month, listing more than $10 billion in liabilities, marking the

collapse of a company whose rapidly worsening finances had

unnerved debt investors in recent weeks.

Jefferies said First Brands stopped forwarding payments from

the obligors to Point Bonita, a fund managed by Leucadia, in a

timely manner on September 15.

Point Bonita Capital invests in trade-finance assets by

purchasing receivables from companies such as First Brands,

collecting payments from major retailers on the fund's behalf.

"We are in communication with First Brands' advisors and are

working diligently to determine what the impact on Point Bonita

might be," the investment bank said.

"We intend to exert every effort to protect the interests

and enforce the rights of Point Bonita and its investors."

Financial troubles at the auto parts supplier, coupled with

the recent bankruptcy of subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings,

have rattled debt investors and stoked fears of broader stress

in corporate debt markets, according to bondholders and

bankruptcy experts.

Privately held First Brands, which produces replacement

components such as filters, brakes and lighting systems for the

automotive aftermarket, became a major industry player through

debt-financed acquisitions of rival auto parts companies.

Its well-known brands include Raybestos brake solutions,

TRICO wiper blades and FRAM filtration products.