FACTBOX-Possible candidates for Bank of Canada deputy governor

OTTAWA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada needs to fill a vacancy on its rate-setting council to replace Jean Boivin who stepped down as deputy governor in October, in a final hiring decision before Governor Mark Carney leaves to head the Bank of England.

Below are some of the names that have emerged as potential candidates in interviews with analysts:

* DAVID WOLF, ADVISER, BANK OF CANADA: Joined the bank in 2009 when he was appointed as an adviser. He had previously been head of Canadian economics and chief strategist at Merrill Lynch Canada since 2005. He spent eight years before that at a large Canadian investment dealer and worked as a researcher at the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.

Wolf leapt into the spotlight in 2008 with a report warning about soaring household debt levels in Canada and heated housing market. Those issues are now considered the top domestic threats

to the Canadian economy.

Wolf has degrees in economics and engineering from Princeton University.

* LARRY SCHEMBRI, ADVISER, BANK OF CANADA: Joined the bank in 1997 as a visiting research adviser in the International Department. The Toronto-born scholar later became research director in that same department and in 2005 was appointed as chief of the International Economic Analysis Department until his appointment to the position of adviser in September 2010.

In his current role, Schembri focuses on financial stability and the Bank of Canada's contributions to the Financial Stability Board, which is chaired by Carney.

Schembri has a doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Ottawa's Carleton University.

* CHRIS RAGAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, MCGILL UNIVERSITY: Ragan was a special adviser to Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge (Carney's predecessor) in 2004-05 and did two separate stints at the central bank as a visiting economist in the mid-1990s. He was also a temporary adviser to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in 2009-10.

He has written extensively on monetary policy issues and inflation-targeting in particular, including an analysis of the risks and benefits of greater transparency by the bank about how it assesses the economy.

Ragan often speaks to the media and is a member of the Monetary Policy Council at the C.D. Howe Institute, a think tank. He has doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

* STEVE AMBLER, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF QUEBEC AT MONTREAL (UQAM): Ambler served as special adviser to the Bank of Canada Governor in 2006-07; he was also a consultant there from 2005-06 and from 2007-2009.

He has taught economics at UQAM since 1985 and has held visiting positions at universities in Paris and Vienna.

His theoretical work includes research on price-level targeting, inflation targeting and business cycles.

He has a doctorate from Stanford University.

* DONNA HOWARD, ADVISER AT BANK OF CANADA: Howard joined the bank in 1976. In the early 1980s she worked for an investment fund and in the 1990s was involved in technical assistance programs overseas operated by the International Monetary Fund and the Canadian International Development Agency.

She was chief of the financial markets department at the bank from 2005 until being appointed as adviser.

She is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

* STEFANE MARION, CHIEF ECONOMIST AND STRATEGIST AT NATIONAL BANK FINANCIAL: Marion joined Quebec-based National Bank Financial in 1999, and in 2008 was named chief economist and strategist. Marion has been recognized as one of the most accurate economic forecasters in Canada.

Prior to joining the bank, he worked for several years at the federal departments of finance and industry. He helped develop forecasting models and the analysis of the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

He has a master's degree from the University of Montreal.

(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Maureen Bavdek)