LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog will take unspecified action against banks that channel profits into bonuses rather than build up capital, it said yesterday.

Banks will be required to update the Financial Services Authority in coming weeks about their remuneration policies as the 2009 bonus round nears.

"We need to look at those figures and we will be talking to the banks as to whether those accruals they are making at the moment are compatible with the level of capital build up which we believe is appropriate," FSA Chairman Adair Turner told reporters.

"If it is not we will be engaging in full and frank discussions with them about those, either in relation to the level of those bonus accruals or the form in which they are paid," Turner said.

"That is very much part of our supervisory discussions with the major firms at this moment."

There are signs bonuses are heading higher again despite many banks needing government support.—— The Centre for Economics and Business Research said this week payouts in the UK would hit £6 billion in this year's bonus round, up by half from £4 billion in 2008 but still well below the £10.2 billion paid in 2007.

Some policymakers fear momentum for regulatory reform is ebbing as bank profits recover and economies stabilise.