Mar. 6 at 1:46 PM
Western Alliance Bancorporation shares fell Friday after the bank announced a
$126.4 million charge-off tied to a trade-finance loan following a counterparty default.
The Phoenix-based lender said Jefferies Financial Group informed it that payments due under a forbearance agreement would not be made as scheduled. Western Alliance filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Jefferies, Leucadia Asset Management, and affiliates, alleging breach of contract and fraud related to a loan backed by receivables from First Brands Group.
The bank reached the forbearance deal in October 2025 after learning that LAM allowed UCC financing statements on the receivables to expire, triggering loan defaults. Payments were made until Jan. 15, 2026, totaling
$42.1 million, but the final installments due in Q1 2026 will not be paid.
$WAL