UBS made no request to buy back toxic assets-press

* Assets were transferred as part of government rescue

* Regulator says UBS capital base clearly better-paper

ZURICH, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Switzerland's financial regulator FINMA has received no request from UBS AG (UBSN.VX) to buy back toxic assets transferred to the Swiss central bank last year, FINMA's head was quoted on Sunday as saying.

UBS has said it could consider buying back toxic assets, which were transferred as part of a 2008 government rescue package, seeking to remove any possible indication of government vinfluence. [ID:nLR196913]

"We have received no query from UBS, so the question has therefore not been addressed," FINMA Chief Executive Patrick Raaflaub was quoted as saying by newspaper SonntagsBlick.

The Swiss government bailed out UBS in October 2008 in the wake of the collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers, injecting 6 billion Swiss francs ($5.9 billion) in return for stake of some 9 percent, which it later sold at a profit.

UBS originally planned to transfer some $60 billion in illiquid assets to the central bank, which was later reduced to some $39 billion.

"Its capital base has clearly improved. But at some stage it has to make a profit again," Raaflaub was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Sam Cage; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=1.015 Swiss Franc)