Flags fly outside of the Goldman Sachs headquarters building in the financial district of New York May 8, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein told employees to avoid making high profile purchases, the New York Post said, citing sources.

Blankfein, who first asked employees to avoid large purchases late last year, has stepped up his campaign in recent weeks, a source told the paper.

“This is a sensitive time for us, and wants to make sure that we’re not being seen living high on the hog,” the paper quoted an anonymous Goldman executive as saying.

Goldman has faced a torrent of unwanted publicity recently including an unflattering story in Rolling Stone magazine, which accused the bank of having a key role in various market bubbles stretching back to the 1920s.

A Goldman spokeswoman declined to comment to the paper.

Goldman could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters after regular U.S. business hours.

Last week New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, in a report into compensation paid by banks, said employee pay “has become unmoored from the banks’ financial performance.