The boom-bust cycle in the euro area periphery has almost toppled the euro. This column suggests that region-specific macroprudential policy could have substantially smoothed the credit cycle in the periphery and reduced the build-up of external imbalances. In contrast, common monetary policy could have stabilised output in both the periphery and the core slightly better, but it would have been incapable of significantly influencing either housing markets or the periphery’s trade balance. The column also offers policy guidelines in case internal imbalances should arise again in the euro area.