India's Kotak Mahindra Bank top of Nifty 50 after Q4 profit beat

** Kotak Mahindra Bank KOTAKBANK up 3.7% at 1,604 rupees, top gainer on benchmark Nifty 50 index NIFTY

** Private lender's Q4 profit jumps 26%, above analysts' expectations, on higher core lending income, healthy loan growth

** CLSA says results reflect positive trends for pvt lenders like sharp rise in deposit growth, stable margins, healthy asset quality

** Kotak's estimates 3.0-4.5 bln rupees hit to FY25 profit due to recent regulatory ban on adding new clients digitally

** Macquarie Capital says the estimate is "encouraging" but regulatory action is the elephant in the room

** Kotak's shares are down 15.4% so far this year vs 1.9% gain in Nifty bank index