I signed up for COBRA starting the beginning of February.
While expensive compared to the subsidized rate I paid as an employee, COBRA worked out to be cheaper than the cheapest plans on the exchange but with the same level of coverage I had as an employee.
I believe that you're still getting a break because a big company like BNYMN gets a better group rate. In my case, I'm paying around $569/month (individual coverage). While not inexpensive, it's cheaper than the minimum $700/month I was seeing on the AHCA exchange. COBRA coming from a smaller company would likely be much more expensive.