That is easy, the cause with the Asian Banking Panic of 1997 is the same as all other banking panics: Government intervention in the form of central banking and fiat currency. When people use a centrally controlled fiat currency then the people will experience Bust and Boom business cycles. Eventually the busts become so severe that the government has only one option left which is to devalue currency. Of course currency traders not being stupid and not wanting to get stuck with worthless paper assets immediately start fire sales trying not to be the one stuck with the junk.
IMF financial deregulation and austerity, free market financial speculation, and unsustainable trade deficits, too.
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/crs-asia2.htm
Government regulation, government imposed austerity, excess speculation and persistent trade deficits are all EFFECTS of a fiat money system and certainly not the cause of the problem. Only money creation in excess of savings can cause something like this to happen. Until countries abandon fiat currency this will/is becoming more commonplace. Actually it is worse as the Asian thing happened among several small countries, now the giant economies of North America, EU and China are in the same condition that these countries were in prior to the event.
Sure, I'll take your word for it.
government imposed austerity,
What other type of austerity is there?
Market imposes austerity. When the government of a country gets into too much debt or has printed too much money making the local currency worthless, then investors will refuse to purchase debts from that govenrment. Of course that govenrment will not long be able to pay its bills and its creditors and be in default where investors will not loan the government money until that government proves it can pay its bills. This is exactly what should be going on in the USA, Greece, Italy, China, Spain, etc. That is central banks should be taking the cue from private investors and stopping the lending of money to these countries. Instead there is a giant game of chicken going on between various central banks as to who will hold the increasingly worthless paper of these countries.