In each of the severely-hit economies, short-term foreign exchange liabilities of the economy grew in excess of short-term foreign exchange assets of the economy, leaving the economy vulnerable to liquidity problems in the event of a sudden withdrawal of foreign capital. Presumably, foreign lenders (mainly banks)had made short-term loans under the assumption that they would routinely roll over such loans in the future. In the event, they pulled these loans abruptly in the second half of 1997.