What was the 1997 financial crisis called because it began with currency and market turmoil in Thailand?

The 1997 financial crisis was called the Asian financial crisis because it began with currency and market turmoil in Thailand.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate defense of the baht on July 2, 1997, after pressure on the currency became unsustainable. The baht then depreciated sharply, and investors reassessed the risks of other Asian economies with large foreign debts, property booms, and vulnerable financial systems.

The turmoil spread to Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other markets. Stock prices and currencies fell, companies faced higher debt burdens, and banks suffered from nonperforming loans. The International Monetary Fund assembled assistance programs for several affected countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea.

The crisis was not simply a stock-market event: currency collapses and banking failures were central parts of it. It is also different from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which followed later and had its own causes, including debt pressures and falling commodity prices.