Jeffrey Lacker, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, stepped down April 4 after revealing he had inappropriately disclosed confidential information about monetary policy, he said in a statement.

Lacker's statement indicated that he had disclosed the information in late 2012 with Medley Global Advisors. That firm later published the information in an analyst note, setting off a Department of Justice investigation and an internal Fed investigation.

"During that October 2, 2012 discussion, the Analyst introduced into the conversation an important non-public detail about one of the policy options considered by participants prior to the meeting. Due to the highly confidential and sensitive nature of this information, I should have declined to comment and perhaps have ended the phone call," he said. "Instead, I did not refuse or express my inability to comment and the interview continued."

Lacker said he did not disclose this incident in an internal review by the Federal Open Market Committee, but he did during subsequent interviews with law enforcement officials.

"Once our Bank's Board of Directors learned of the outcome of the government investigations, they took appropriate actions," the Richmond Fed said in a statement.

The statement added that First Vice President Mark Mullinix is the bank's acting president. Lacker was already scheduled to retire later this year.