JPMorgan Math Nonsense to MetLife in CPI Spat: Argentina Credit

The alleged data rigging by Argentina that cost inflation-linked bondholders $7 billion and earned the nation a rebuke from the International Monetary Fund is now turning MetLife Inc. against its banker.

The local unit of the largest U.S. life insurer is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co. to recoup $107 million in losses on notes securitized by the lender, claiming the biggest U.S. bank by assets used government inflation data that is estimated to be less than half the actual rate to value the debt. The underlying bonds lost 9.5 percent in dollars this year, the biggest drop among inflation-linked debt in Latin America, after plunging 25 percent in 2011, according to Barclays Plc. Economists estimate inflation at 24 percent, versus the official rate of 9 percent.