Standard Chartered PLC has seen the departure of at least four senior Asia-based bankers from its private banking unit in recent months, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, amid growing earnings pressure at the business.

The unit is, however, adding 15 private bankers in London in the March quarter for serving clients in the Middle East, two separate people with knowledge of the matter said.

StanChart's private banking business caters to wealthy individuals across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, through booking centers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, India, London and Jersey.

The unit, however, has weighed on the group's earnings in the last couple of years, as competition in Asia, which accounts for bulk of its revenue, has intensified and market volatility has impacted the assets it manages.

Among those who left the London-headquartered bank in the past six months include Teddy Kwong, managing director and market head for Hong Kong, and Peter Lam, managing director and team leader for Hong Kong, said the people.

Both Hong Kong-based Kwong and Lam joined StanChart in the first half of 2017 from the regional private banking unit of HSBC Holdings PLC. It was not immediately clear where the two are headed.

Ray Li, StanChart private banking managing director and head of relationship management, has also left after having worked at the bank for more than a decade, said the people and according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Asia, Africa and Middle East-focused bank has also lost India private banking head Sandeep Das, who joined Barclays PLC last month as India head of its business that caters to ultra high networth clients, as per a Barclays announcement.

A StanChart spokeswoman in Singapore declined to comment, but said that the bank continued to invest in and hire for its private banking business in 2019.