“China’s banks have woken up and realized that the challenge from Alibaba’s entry into banking is for real,” said David He, a Hong Kong-based partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group Inc. “For them, doing e-commerce is a defense as well as a counterattack.” Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., which as the world’s most profitable company dwarfs Alibaba’s net income by more than 10 times, set up a platform allowing retailers to sell the bank’s customers wine, shampoo, appliances and more. China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and others are also getting into the action.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-23/gloves-off-in-china-as-banks-alibaba-invade-each-other-s-turf