The forgeries were said to have been made by Hannibal Pictures, a Los Angeles-based producer, for the filming of the 2011 Antonio Banderas movie "The Big Bang." According to the allegations, Hannibal Pictures submitted documents bearing fake signatures to obtain around $7 million in loans to finance the $17 million film.

The bank declined to comment on the matter, but said legal proceedings are ongoing. 

The issue erupted after Standard Chartered announced the shutdown of its film lending business in Hong Kong, owing to "geographical reasons." The unit was established in 2006 but the bank has since been unable to see significant activity from Asian film producers enough to catch up with the pace of US and European studios. Film lending largely involves gap financing, where banks forecast a film's sales potential internationally and lend into the "gap" between what the producer can raise and the amount necessary to complete the picture.