On the Lake

The history and profile of Gonet & Cie are intimately linked to the Lake Geneva area and to the broader French-speaking region of Switzerland. The Bank was founded in 1845 in Nyon in the canton of Vaud and re-established in Geneva at the end of the 1950s under the impetus of Pierre and Bernard Gonet. French-speaking Switzerland is its principal market and home to more than half its clients.

But along with these geographic roots, the Bank has formed other ties with the lake itself.

Louis Gonet, who founded his bank, Gonet & Cie, as an extension of his business trading goods and running a freight service on Lake Geneva, gave the order to build one of the first steamships to operate on the lake, in the 1840s.

Over 150 years later, this time in a sporting context, Gonet & Cie has helped raise awareness of a monotype catamaran, the D35, that has revolutionised lake racing and attracted the interest of enthusiasts and specialists worldwide.In 2006, the “Gonet & Cie” D35, skippered by the great New Zealander Russell Coutts, three times winner of the America’s Cup, won the prestigious Bol d’Or, Europe’s biggest yachting regatta on an inland lake.

In 2009, Gonet & Cie is back with another dedicated crew that shares its values, as the title sponsor of a new catamaran. Once again, it will be pushing back the frontiers of sailing on Lake Geneva and enhancing the lake’s reputation as a laboratory and testing ground for trailblazing innovations and challenges. The Ventilo M1 “Gonet & Cie” was launched early morning on Saturday 13th June, 2009 to participate in its first Bol d’Or.

Press release 13.06.09: The Ventilo M1 « Gonet & Cie », the first of a new type of catamaran.