NEW YORK, September 5, 2000 - Horsesmouth, LLC, announced today that Scott & Stringfellow, Inc., a regional financial services firm headquartered in Richmond, Va., signed an agreement to purchase the Internet-based Horsesmouth learning, development, and support service for all of its financial advisors.

The Scott & Stringfellow deal comes soon after Horsesmouth's recent contract to provide firm-wide service to one of the largest firms in the financial services industry.

"The Scott & Stringfellow partnership demonstrates that the Horsesmouth service can effectively complement the strategies of regional firms, as well as the large wirehouses, to increase the performance of their financial advisors through e-learning. We are very pleased to add Scott & Stringfellow to our list of customers," said William T. Nicklin, Horsesmouth's chief executive officer. "Horsesmouth provides knowledge and tools that help a regional firm expand its business base, while strengthening the personalized service it offers to existing clients."

The Horsesmouth service enhances productivity for financial advisors and offers an extremely cost-effective way for financial services firms to deliver continuous learning. Horsesmouth complements formal training by providing a daily flow of knowledge and guidance that sustains firms' existing training campaigns. Because Horsesmouth integrates learning and development in the context of up-to-the-minute market news and data, advisors get support for doing their jobs and interacting with clients on the job-at their own pace. The service is produced by Horsesmouth's team of industry experts, trainers, editors, writers, and programmers, focused exclusively on providing what financial advisors need daily.

"Horsesmouth complements Scott & Stringfellow's existing training programs and provides an excellent platform for developing the skills of our financial advisors," said Robert Brown, senior vice president of Scott & Stringfellow. "This ultimately translates into increased productivity for financial advisors and higher value for their clients."

Horsesmouth provides e-learning solutions for the financial services industry and is dedicated to enhancing the performance of financial professionals through continuous and sustained learning. Its service includes resources for building client relationships, expanding financial advisors' business, improving sales and marketing skills, and learning how to integrate and leverage the power of the Internet and technology. Horsesmouth also offers live Web-based training events as part of its service.

Scott & Stringfellow Inc., founded in 1893, is a regional investment banking, brokerage, and financial services firm with 42 offices in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT). Scott & Stringfellow employs approximately 840 people, including 310 financial advisors.