Citi's Reed starts Brazilian debt talks.

Brasilia - Citicorp Chairman John Reed met Tuesday with the president of Brazil in the first of a series of meetings that are expected to include discussions on the restructuring of Brazil's commercial debt.

Mr. Reed, whose trip was described by Brazilian authorities as a "courtesy visit with some substance," gave President Itamar Franco an "optimistic balance of how things are going" on the debt talks.

Citicorp is Brazil's largest foreign creditor. Over the weekend, Brazil asked for a waiver to cut from $3.2 billion to $2.8 billion the amount of collateral it would put up to guarantee the restructuring of its debt under the Brady plan. A local newspaper reported Tuesday that the 19-member debt steering committee, headed by Citicorp, agreed to the waiver request.

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