As a director of innovation and investments at HSBC, he had been part of a three-strong team led by Remi Bourrette that made equity investments in companies with the ability to help HSBC improve its digital infrastructure. The bank's strategic investments team reports to group head of innovation Christophe Chazot and is one of a number of corporate venture arms set up by banks to respond to the opportunities and threats of digital technology. Spanish bank Santander launched a $100 million fintech fund in July 2014, while rival BBVA established a corporate venture arm in early 2013. Citi and Commerzbank also have teams investing in start-ups. HSBC has disclosed investments in three companies so far – the instant messaging start-up Symphony, the treasury management software provide Kyriba and the big-data platform Platfora.

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2015-12-18/hsbc-fintech-investor-james-stickland-joins-start-up