Officials of Agricultural Development Bank (adb) have denied the bank has been taken over by another indigenous bank, uniBank, describing the report as pure lies. Although there is an acknowledgement of moves to transfer a majority of the shares to uniBank, adb says such an action would have to be sanctioned by the Central Bank. At the moment that has not been done despite receiving letters from the consortium of banks such as Belstar Capital Limited, EDC Limited and Starmount Investment Limited to that effect, adb said in a statement. Reports about the takeover of adb shook the financial market resulting in the decision by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to suspend trading in shares of the bank. Two other indigenous banks - UT and Capital banks - were acquired by GCB bank in August last year after the Bank of Ghana authorised the transaction. Although uniBank Executive Director Clifford Mettle had said the takeover had been duly approved by the relevant institutions, the Central Bank has denied authorising it. BoG Governor, Dr Ernest Addison BoG Governor, Dr Ernest Addison said the Central Bank has neither sanctioned the change of adb ownership nor the willing of the majority shareholder's rights to uniBank. Reacting to the report hours later, adb said a pledge to transfer rights and shares to a third party does not translate to a "transfer of ownership." "If the shareholders mentioned herein have pledged their shares together with any benefits or privileges attached thereto that will not have the effect of making uniBank a shareholder of the Agricultural Development Bank Limited or constitute a takeover of the Bank," it said in the statement. But a lecturer with the University of Ghana Business School has questioned the intervention by both the Central Bank and GSE, saying it was "too quick." "The whole thing is a process [but the two were too] quick to come out," Dr Lord Mensah told Evans Mensah on Joy FM's Top Story.