Corporate borrowers defaulted and commercial banks were left holding billions in bad loans.

These events earned the title of the tom yam kung crisis among locals. It spread to other Asian economies, most notably South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.

To mark 10 years since the crisis, The Nation presents a special two-week series, starting today, with the recollections of Pin Chakkapak, president of defunct Finance One who was blamed of causing the financial crisis, plus the views of financier-turned-politician Korn Chatikavanij and Phatra Securities managing director Supavud Saicheua.

Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Kosit Panpiemras and Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn will share their thoughts on the challenges Thailand must tackle to prevent a recurrence.

There will be personal accounts from International Monetary Fund officials Anoop Singh and Reza Moghadam, former finance minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda and Financial Sector Restructuring Authority chairman Amaret Sila-On.

More articles highlight how the currency will move forward with existing regulatory mechanisms and how the financial system has changed during the past 10 years.

Complementing these are interviews with Prachai Leophairatana, Sawasdi Horrungruang and Sirivat Voravetvuthikun - three of the most prominent businessmen of the time. A decade later, how has the crisis changed their lives?

There will be selected articles on corporate efforts to survive from some of the companies that form part of our new website devoted to the country's top 1,000 businesses.