http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/28/bbt-cuts-jobs-as-it...
Surprised that this wasn't here already. But for any aspiring equity researchers (looking at those ppl who've messaged me as of late asking for advice), this is the risk of entering a field in decline. I remember BB&T was hiring not all that long ago (~1 yr ago) and whichever unlucky person got it ended up getting the really short end of the stick.
Now this isn't to say that sell-side ER is vanishing altogether. People who say that largely don't know what they're talking about. Having said that, the pain is real and breaking into the industry through a smaller regional shop potentially exposes an individual to unpredictable, binary eventualities such as this one.
In happier news... at least it's Friday. Cheers!