In a public act of contrition, Goldman Sachs earlier this week said that it would spend $500 million to help thousands of struggling small businesses. That’s about 3 percent of the $16.7 billion the company has so far set aside to pay its employees this year, reported the New York Times.

The bank will work with billionaire financier Warren Buffet to help 10,000 small businesses with education and mentoring programs, and more importantly, access to capital, according to the Times.

The goodwill gesture comes on the heels of Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s statement that the bank is “doing God’s work” in an attempt to justify the company’s massive executive bonuses.

Blankfein also issued an apology for the company’s role in recession. “We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” he said at a news conference. “We apologize.”

Sachs and other Wall Street giants has been the object of public outrage after receiving billions of taxpayer dollars in bailout funds. Most of those companies, once on the brink of collapse, have rebounded and are turning profits again. The company still plans to dole out billions of dollars in executive bonuses this year, saying that it’s necessary in order to retain top talent.

Tags: Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein’s, Small businesses, Warren Buffet

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