What was the name of the 1997 crisis in which stock markets and currencies across East and Southeast Asia plunged?

The 1997 crisis in which markets and currencies across East and Southeast Asia plunged was the Asian financial crisis.

The crisis began in Thailand after the baht came under intense pressure. Thailand abandoned its currency's peg to the U.S. dollar on July 2, 1997, and the baht then depreciated sharply. Investors reassessed the region's economies, causing capital flight, currency collapses, falling share prices, and corporate failures across several countries.

Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines were among the economies hit especially hard. Many companies and banks had borrowed in foreign currencies, so the loss of domestic-currency value made their debts much more expensive. Weak financial regulation, property bubbles, current-account pressures, and short-term foreign borrowing deepened the shock.

The International Monetary Fund organized assistance programs for Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. Hong Kong's currency peg survived, but its stock market suffered a severe fall. The crisis later contributed to wider turmoil, including Russia's 1998 default and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management.