* Olsen to step down 10 months before the end of second term * Finance ministry looks to find replacement in early 2022 * Deputy governor Ida Wolden Bache seen as favourite (Adds reaction, detail, currency, bullet points) OSLO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Norway’s central bank Governor Oeystein Olsen will step down in February, ten months before the end of his second six-year term, with economists tipping a deputy to become the first female head of the bank. “There is a time for everything. In January next year I will turn 70 years of age. This is a natural time to round off a long professional career,” Olsen said in statement released by the Norges Bank. “I have decided to remain in my post to the end of February next year and finish off with my 12th annual address.” Most Norwegian public officials retire by the age of 70. The Norwegian crown currency weakened slightly to trade at 10.36 against the euro at 1310 GMT from 10.35 before the announcement. Olsen’s retirement could lead to the appointment of the first female governor of Norges Bank, two economists said. “Ida Wolden Bache is, in my view, a clear favourite to succeed Olsen,” said Kjersti Haugland, chief economist at DNB Markets. Wolden Bache was appointed as one of two central bank deputy governors in 2020 after heading the monetary policy unit at the bank since 2016. She has a PhD in economics and is a former senior economist at Handelsbanken Capital Markets in Oslo. “Ida will be the next governor. She is extremely well qualified and she is now deputy governor and has been involved in most aspects of Norges Bank’s responsibilities and tasks for quite some time,” said Kjetil Olsen, chief economist at Nordea Markets in Oslo. “I have a hard time seeing anyone outcompete her.” In a statement to Reuters, Wolden Bache said: “I was sad to learn that the governor has decided to step down. I’m concentrating fully on my current position and do not have anything to add to that.” The finance ministry said it would start the process of recruiting a replacement in the coming weeks and aims to make an appointment early next year. Norges Bank is in charge of monetary policy and financial stability and also manages Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest. (Editing by Toby Chopra) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.