Goldman Sachs says sorry

Lloyd Blankfein apologises

Last month, HSBC chief executive Stephen Green suggested that the entire banking industry owes the rest of the world an apology. Yesterday, US banking giant Goldman Sachs delivered such an apology, before announcing a $500 million pledge to small businesses.

The move came right from the top, with the bank's chief executive Lloyd Blankfein announcing that the bank has "participated in things that were clearly wrong and have to reason to regret." Blankfein added that the bank was "very concerned" about the criticism it received for accepting a $10 billion bailout, only to return quickly to paying multimillion-dollar bonuses. He gave particular notice to the bank's reputation, saying it remained "very important" to the firm.

Donations

Originally, Goldman had appeared to be one of the strongest banks to ride out the economic crisis, but the last twelve months have still been far from easy for the firm. In addition to taking a bailout last year, Goldman turned into a bank holding company to receive discounted loans from the Federal Reserve. In fact the bank became the second-largest recipient of taxpayer funds via the government's bailout of AIG.

Yesterday's apology marks the clearest public statement of regret yet from any Wall Street bank. Just hours later, Goldman also announced that it would be working with largest shareholder, billionaire Warren Buffett, to help 10,000 small businesses by offering them business and management education, mentoring and access to capital.

Despite banks hardly being in public favor at the moment, the Wall Street giant insists that its latest charitable endeavour - the largest in the firm's history - had not been motivated by public distrust or a lack of consumer confidence.

Low profile

Meanwhile, as the bankers' bonus row continues to grow, Goldman Sachs looks set to keep a low profile over the festive period by announcing that it won't be hosting a corporate Christmas party this year. The firm has also confirmed that it is prohibiting employees from funding their own parties.

It is believed the Christmas party ban comes as the Goldman comes under increased public criticism for paying bigger bonuses this year despite the national unemployment rate hovering at 10.2 percent.

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Pay rise at Goldman |Bonuses break the bank |Fannie Mae ask for more money

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