In-house focus drives risk mitigation at Thomas Cook
Published: Feb 2026
Best Risk Management Solution
Highly Commended Winner
Thomas Cook (India) Limited
Photo of Rahul Agarwal, Swati Jadhav, Vaibhavi Shelat and Amit Baraskar, Thomas Cook (India) Limited.
Rahul Agarwal, Swati Jadhav, Vaibhavi Shelat and Amit Baraskar
Set up in 1881, Thomas Cook (India) Limited (TCIL) is the leading omnichannel travel company in the country offering a broad spectrum of services including Foreign Exchange, Corporate Travel, MICE, Leisure Travel, Value Added Services, and Visa Services. It operates leading B2C and B2B brands including Thomas Cook, SOTC, TCI, SITA, Asian Trails, Allied TPro, Australian Tours Management, Desert Adventures, VTravel Circle International Limited (TCI), Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited, Distant Frontiers, TC Tours, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI), Go Vacation, Private Safaris East and South Africa.
As one of the largest travel service provider networks headquartered in the Asia Pacific region, The Thomas Cook India Group spans 28 countries across five continents.
The challenge
Risk is often incompletely defined and undermined and lies on the treasury desk in the form of a ticking bomb. Gone are the days where treasury and risks were considered cousins. Modern day multi-country treasury and risk are twins who operate together, 24/7.
This becomes rather sensitive and critical especially in the case of a group like Thomas Cook which involves managing a group (corporate) treasury as well as a (quasi) bank treasury, where the treasury team handles areas with multiple complexities.
The Thomas Cook (India) Group comprises:
Foreign exchange (FX) business housed at Thomas Cook (India) Limited – this includes dealing in bank notes, prepaid forex card issuance, remittances for students and family maintenance etc and is regulated by the Central Bank (Reserve Bank of India). The company has an authorised dealer II license, is a card issuer with SWIFT membership, nostro accounts, FEDAI membership which makes this function like a bank’s treasury which has a foreign exchange dealing room.
Travel businesses (holidays, business travel and meetings incentives conferences exhibitions) – across 29 countries spread over five continents. The Group Treasury plays a vital role in managing FX risk and other associated financial risks.
Leisure, hospitality and digital photography – businesses which are independently managed with minimum intervention by group treasury.
Group treasury is responsible for day-to-day banking as well as debt, credit facilities, surplus investment management, banking and credit rating agency relationships etc. The treasurer had already set up a framework of governance reporting which was stabilised in H224. The governance reports (risk related) cover a wide spread of risks from ABC analysis of the credit and concentration risk, compliance risks, guarantees (corporate as well as bank guarantees/SBLCs), asset liability mismatches, exposure to card frauds to key cash numbers where metrics are defined and redefined in consultation with senior management. The reports are area specific with extensive coverage of aspects which give a 360-degree view of the risks with proposed mitigation actions.
“However, given the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in the world there was a need for an increased focus on risk management,” explains Amit Baraskar, Vice President & Head – Treasury.
The solution
In late 2024 the group decided on a complete overhaul of the dealing mid office (DMO) and launch of a newly formed treasury mid office (TMO).
DMO acts as a link between the dealing front office and dealing back office and is responsible for checking (at individual transaction level) and monitoring limits, transaction rates, funding and currency exposure while also creating awareness on currency rate movements. Apart from this, the DMO is also tracking key risks along with mitigants and ongoing updates of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Within group treasury, TMO was launched in late 2024 with an objective of enhancing the focus on risk identification and mitigation. TMO is responsible for checking and monitoring on a sample basis risk in areas like debt, trade finance, credit cards, bank accounts, liquidity management, investments, compliance and finance cost.
Best practice and innovation
The company has established a water-tight risk strategy. With the launch of TMO, overhaul of DMO, revamped SOPs and focused workshops, Thomas Cook India Group’s treasury has engineered a 360° risk shield. It’s not just risk containment; it’s a predictive, collaborative framework that keeps the organisation two steps ahead.
The evolution of Thomas Cook India Group’s treasury and forex dealings functions marks a landmark shift from traditional siloed approaches to a unified, proactive, and intelligence-led risk management framework.
Through the launch of the TMO and the overhaul of the forex DMO, the group has not only strengthened its operational backbone but has also embraced a 360° governance culture that pre-empts risk rather than merely reacting to it.
With well-orchestrated workshops, a realignment of SOPs, and daily risk metric monitoring, the treasury team has created a multi-dimensional shield against both conventional and emerging threats. The strategy is not just water-tight – it is dynamic, resilient and future-ready.
This transformation stands as a benchmark in the industry and reflects the group’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding assets, ensuring compliance and driving responsible growth across global operations.
Key benefits
Process efficiencies.
Risk mitigated.
Improved visibility.
Errors reduced.
Future-proof solution.
The Adam Smith Awards Asia are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards-asia
