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.

($1 = 0.8210 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina. Editing by Valentina Za and Mark Potter)