By Saeed Azhar

NEW YORK Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Thursday responded to a string of critical comments in news reports in recent weeks, saying it was "not fun" but that he was focused on running the firm in a live interview on CNBC.

"I don't recognize the caricature that is painted of me, and when I talk to colleagues and I talk to clients, they don't recognize it either," he said. "But that doesn't stop me from reflecting on anything that's said, and I always try to think about how I can do better."

His comments came after sources criticized Solomon's hard-charging leadership style and strategy in press reports.

Goldman Sachs is shedding its consumer businesses after its foray into retail banking flopped. It is also selling fintech firm GreenSky, after offloading most of its unsecured consumer loan portfolio and striking a deal to sell a part of its wealth business.

The Wall Street giant's profit slumped 60% in the second quarter, missing estimates, as writedowns on its consumer businesses and real estate investments weighed on earnings.

Solomon told CNBC he feels better about the situation in capital markets. If initial public offerings, including for SoftBank Group's Arm Holdings, go well, that may spur more activity, he said.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Lananh Nguyen; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Jamie Freed)