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Goldman Sachs brought its campaign to improve its image directly to investors Friday as Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said the investment bank will do better at "listening to the concerns of our shareholders."

Blankfein also told the company’s annual meeting that Goldman is creating a business standards committee to study its practices as it fights civil fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We need a rigorous self-examination," Blankfein told investors at the meeting, which attracted about 300 people. "Our firm must review our core principles."

The committee, which will report to the Goldman board of directors, will review both services and products Goldman offers, Blankfein said.

Blankfein, who has responded to the SEC charges by saying Goldman has done nothing wrong, offered a softer side Friday. He pledged that the company will be more introspective and listen to issues raised by shareholders quick pay day loan.

Blankfein noted there is a "disconnect" between how the company views itself and how outsiders see Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Blankfein noted that in the last few weeks, questions have been raised about how "we treat our clients."

Regaining the confidence of clients and shareholders is essential, he said.

In the past, Goldman has focused on its big institutional clients and not enough on the public, he said. The company has come under sharp criticism before and after the SEC charges were filed April 16, partly because of the high pay its executives and traders received during the financial crisis and recession.

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