MILAN, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Poste Italiane said on Monday it had strengthened a consumer finance deal with the Italian arm of French bank BNP Paribas to cement its leadership in the market for loans backed by salaries or pensions. Under the deal with BNL-BNP Paribas, Poste will buy 40% of BNL Finance, a company specialising in loans where the monthly instalment due from borrowers is withheld directly from their salary or pension. The deal also envisages extending for another 10 years a commercial agreement to distribute BNL Finance loans through Poste’s network. Poste did not disclose the financial details of the deal, which is expected to close by mid-2021. BNL Finance had more than 230,000 clients at the end of 2020 and a loan book worth 2.8 billion euros ($3.4 billion). Before selling the 40% stake to Poste Italiane, BNL Finance will transfer around 2 billion euros in loans to its parent company BNL, Poste said in a statement.