REPORT: Meredith Whitney Has Lost Half Of Her Clients And Her Staff Is Down To One Full-Timer

These are tough times over at the Meredith Whitney Advisory Group.

According to the Wall Street Journal's Greg Zuckerman, the firm founded by the veteran bank analyst has been watching business shrink.

From Zuckerman:

The firm started with more than 30 research clients, but just 14 of the clients were left at the end of January, according to people familiar with the matter. Elliott Management, Paulson & Co. and Balyasny Asset Management are among those that have departed, according to people close to Ms. Whitney's firm and to those hedge funds...

...The firm's staff has shrunk in the past two years from five full-time investment professionals, in addition to Ms. Whitney, to just one as of last month, according to people close to the firm.

Whitney made a name for herself during the financial crisis as an analyst at CIBC World Markets, which was where she correctly predicted that Citigroup would have to cut its dividend due to capital concerns.

During a "60 Minutes" interview in December 2010, Whitney forecasted that the U.S. municipal bond market would experience cascading defaults. This prediction has not materialized.

Read more about the state of Whitney's firm at WSJ.com.