What was the 1997–1998 regional financial crisis that began with Thailand's baht devaluation called?

The 1997–1998 regional financial crisis that began with Thailand’s baht devaluation was called the Asian financial crisis.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate policy on July 2, 1997, allowing the baht to fall after intense pressure on its foreign-exchange reserves. The shock spread to Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies as investors withdrew capital and currencies depreciated. Stock markets plunged, banks faced heavy foreign-currency debts, and several governments sought International Monetary Fund assistance.

The crisis had several underlying vulnerabilities: large short-term foreign borrowings, property and equity bubbles, weak financial supervision, and exchange-rate systems that encouraged confidence in stable currencies. It was not simply a stock-market event, because currencies, banks, corporations, and employment were all affected.

Russia’s 1998 crisis and Brazil’s later pressures were influenced by the global risk aversion that followed, but they were separate episodes. The phrase Asian financial crisis specifically refers to the cross-border turmoil centered in East and Southeast Asia.