ABN AMRO has suspended nine employees for forging customer signatures on mortgage documents, reports the Financieele Dagblad.

They reportedly copied customer signatures without their knowledge on mortgage papers.

The problem was apparently that final mortgage quotes given by the bank to clients conflicted with previous advice: internal policies meant advisers needed to discuss these changes with clients, who then needed to confirm via signature.

Frans Woelders, chief executive of retail banking at ABN AMRO told the FD that the employees’ actions were ‘stupid and undesirable’ but suggested they were only violating internal, administrative processes.

The bank is looking at how much has gone wrong, and pledged to make amends if customers’ best interests were compromised.

ABN AMRO has informed regulators DNB and AFM, and an internal investigation of all mortgage records post 2013 will report to the supervisory authorities.