Two Federal Reserve staff members failed to follow the central bank’s rules that dictated how to handle the minutes of policy meetings before they are released to the public, an audit report released yesterday showed.

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were among at least 15 financial companies that received potentially market-moving Fed information 19 hours before the public in an April 9 release the central bank called a mistake.

The inadvertent release raised questions about the Fed’s internal controls among attorneys and disclosure experts.

Neither the public affairs assistant nor the special assistant to the Board in the Congressional Liaison Office “handled the FOMC minutes in accordance with the Program for Security of FOMC Information,” said the Fed’s Office of Inspector General.