Brazil's BTG Pactual reports 16.6% jump in first-quarter net income

May 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian bank BTG Pactual BPAC3.SA increased its first-quarter adjusted net income by 16.6% year on year to 3.37 billion reais ($596.5 million), sustained by its loan portfolio and a reduction in its expenses, it reported on Monday.

"Our credit portfolio maintained its solid expansion,

growing 27% year-over-year," the bank said.

The operating expenses of the largest investment bank in Latin America posted a slight reduction at 2,82 billion reais, downsizing 1.8% from the same period last year.

Despite calling its performance strong, BTG pointed to a challenging economic environment marked by volatility and global uncertainty

Total revenue for the period reached 6,84 billion reais, the lender said in a securities filing, slightly above the 6.819 billion reais mean forecast from analysts polled by LSEG.

While BTG's return on average equity (ROAE), a gauge of profitability, stood at 23.2%, up 0.4 percentage points in the period.

($1 = 5.6498 reais)