A follow up to my post on the  ECB's accounting for coronavirus furlough payments This covers what I think has happened, what should have happened and why it matters. What Happened Note 4 to the 2020 -2021  accounts, "staff costs",  included the following explanation for the sharp increase in staff costs in the period. " As well as the change in the average number of employees, the increase is also due to higher player salaries linked to the new media rights cycle and one-off redundancy costs arising from the restructuring exercise during the year. These factors were offset by funds received from HMRC with respect to the furlough of staff during the year." That final sentence seems to me to say the furlough payments were netted off the wage costs.  So, as an example, say staff costs were £10m (they were way more but....) and furlough payments £1m,  I think the ECB would have disclosed staff costs of £9m.  The alternative to this is the grants could have been sh