What name is given to the 1992 British financial crisis that forced sterling out of the ERM?

The 1992 British financial crisis that forced sterling out of the ERM was called Black Wednesday.

On September 16, 1992, the United Kingdom announced that it was suspending sterling’s participation in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The ERM required participating currencies to remain within agreed exchange-rate bands, and pressure on the pound had made that policy increasingly difficult to defend.

The government and the Bank of England raised interest rates and attempted currency-market intervention, but traders continued selling sterling. The episode badly damaged the governing Conservative Party’s economic reputation and later became an important background event in Britain’s debate over joining the euro.

Black Wednesday was a currency crisis rather than a single-day equity-market crash. It belongs in financial-crisis history because the currency turmoil affected interest rates, investor confidence, and the wider British economy.