Swiss Private Banks Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and Gonet & Cie SA sign a strategic business partnership agreement combining their products and services in the interest of their clients.
- Each bank stays independent, keeping its name and banking license
- The clients of both banks will be able to benefit from a particularly wide range of products and services
- Ultimately, a new holding company will own both entities, pending approval by the local Swiss regulator
Geneva, 10 November 2022 – Gonet & Cie SA and Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. are excited to announce a strategic business partnership agreement. The new banking group will be a major actor in the Swiss wealth management industry, with assets under management in excess of CHF 10 billion.
Thanks to this partnership, Gonet’s clients will have access to the alternative product offering of Arab Bank Switzerland, including commodity trading finance services, real estate funds, private equity and digital assets.
This partnership is also a unique opportunity for Arab Bank Switzerland to strengthen its wealth management offering and its position in Switzerland. The offering of the group will be particularly wide and innovative in the Private Banking industry.
Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. will take a majority stake in the family holding which owns Gonet & Cie SA, an entity of the Gonet Group headquartered in Switzerland and owning Gonet Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Ltd. Each bank will stay independent, keeping its name and banking license. Ultimately, a new holding company will own both entities, Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. and the family holding, pending approval by the local Swiss regulator.
Nicolas Gonet will join the Board of Directors of Gonet & Cie SA, becoming President of the Board of Directors in 2024. Jean-René Lepezel, currently on the Executive Committee of the Bank, will become CEO, effective on the 1st of January 2023. Jean-René Lepezel has more than 30 years of experience in private banking in Geneva. He joined Gonet & Cie SA in 2010 and has been in charge of the Wealth Management Department since 2017.
Serge Robin, CEO of Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., explains:
“Gonet & Cie SA is an ideal partner to strengthen our presence in Switzerland, given its Swiss DNA and its brand awareness locally. This partnership is a unique opportunity to reach ambitious growth targets in a Swiss Private Banking market which is changing rapidly. Our two banks will keep growing and, together, will constitute a unique banking group with a particularly wide offering.”
Nicolas Gonet, Owner and CEO of Gonet & Cie SA, comments:
“I strongly believe that partnering with Arab Bank Switzerland will significantly benefit Gonet & Cie SA and its clients. Created 60 years ago in Switzerland, Arab Bank Switzerland has a strong local presence, ambitious objectives and a complementary offering to ours, which will prove particularly beneficial for both our clients and our employees in the long run. I would like to thank Jean-René Lepezel for becoming the next CEO of Gonet & Cie SA, and the existing management team.”
Jean-Pierre Roth, Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., confirms:
“This partnership will strengthen our presence in Switzerland where we have been based for 60 years, a country where the private banking industry is particularly strong.”
Jean-René Lepezel, Executive Committee Member of Gonet & Cie SA in charge of Wealth Management, added:
“We are excited to bring our forces together with a partner in order to keep growing at a fast pace while keeping our identity. We will keep working with the same entrepreneurial spirit and the same passion, in order to provide the best service possible to our clients.”
Gonet is a Swiss Private bank family owned and based in Geneva for over 175 years, serving both private and institutional clients in Switzerland and internationally. The bank has been growing steadily over the past few years, notably via the acquisition of the Bank Mourge d’Algue in 2018 followed by the acquisition of the Swiss brand of the Belgium bank Degroof Petercam earlier this year. Gonet has also recently developed a complete offering including wealth management solutions and retirement products.
Created in Switzerland in 1962, Arab Bank Switzerland offers traditional wealth management services for high net worth individuals and ambitious entrepreneurs. The bank has an innovative product offering, answering growing demand from its clients. A renowned actor in the commodity trade finance space, Arab Bank Switzerland also has a competitive FX platform, private equity services and real estate funds. A pioneer indigital assets, the bank has offered cryptocurrency trading and custody services since 2019. It also became one of the first regulated banks to offer NFT custody this Autumn, when it announced the launch of an NFT Collection and introduced the Arab Bank Switzerland NFT Art Prize, the first of its kind globally.
In terms of governance, this strategic partnership will involve the following changes in the Board of Directors of the two banks:
- Nicolas Gonet, currently CEO of Gonet & Cie SA, will be nominated to the Board of Directors of both banks, including as President of the Board of Gonet & Cie SA starting at the beginning of 2024, replacing Edgar Brandt.
- Jean-Pierre Roth, Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd, and former resident of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), will also be nominated to the Board of Directors of Gonet & Cie SA as Vice-President.
- Serge Robin, CEO of Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., will be nominated to the Board of Directors of Gonet & Cie SA.
All of these operations are subject to the approval of the local regulator.
