Maintaining the security of confidential information from Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings is something the Federal Reserve is “committed” to, the central bank stated today in the wake of revelations of compromise of meeting results five years ago by a regional bank president.
In a statement, the Fed noted that “we cooperated fully with the independent law enforcement investigation into an unauthorized disclosure in 2012. We appreciate the diligent efforts made to bring this matter to its conclusion.”
The statement was released Tuesday after Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, resigned from his post effective Tuesday. Lacker, in a statement, said that he had improperly disclosed sensitive information about monetary policy to a financial analyst in 2012.
“I apologize to my colleagues and to the public I have been privileged to serve. I have always strived to maintain the appropriate balance between transparency and confidentiality, but I regret that in this instance I crossed the line to confirming information that should have remained confidential,” Lacker said in his statement. “I previously announced my intention to retire as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in October 2017, and in light of these matters I have decided to make my departure from the Federal Reserve effective today.”
Meanwhile, the Richmond Fed released its own comment (separate from Lacker’s). The bank asserted that “the Federal Reserve places a high priority on safeguarding information. We expect every employee to comply with all relevant policies and procedures, as well as our standards of conduct. Employees must review and acknowledge our policies annually. Once our Bank’s Board of Directors learned of the outcome of the government investigations, they took appropriate actions.”
Federal Reserve is committed to maintaining the security of confidential FOMC information