Bolivia's commercial creditors will allow it to negotiate a repurchase of its $1 billion in outstanding loans.

Russia, which assumed all debts incurred by the former Soviet republics, has also been having difficulties with its commercial creditors.

This trend developed due to the long history of sovereign defaulting on commercial creditors with impunity.

Similarly, sovereign debt owed to commercial creditors in the late 1980s was principally held by bank syndicates.

But now Costa Rica's sophisticated financial negotiators have turned the tables on their commercial creditors.

The government has asked the London Club of commercial creditors to write off 40 percent of the more than $30 billion it owes.

The amount earmarked for commercial creditors is $1 billion.

They said the reduction would be made while Brazil negotiates long-term arrangements with commercial creditors.

At current interest rates, American commercial creditors would normally receive about $500 million from Brazil each quarter.

Bankers said yesterday that a bridge loan from the country's largest commercial creditors might also be advanced so that Brazil can stay current on interest.