central limit order book (CLOB)

central limit order book (CLOB)

A central system that contains securities limit orders received from specialists and market makers. Such a system consolidates limit orders in a central location and bridges the gap in establishing a national market system. A hard CLOB executes orders immediately; a soft CLOB provides data to facilitate trading but does not include automatic executions. Establishment of a CLOB has generally been opposed by securities exchanges because they would stand to lose significant volume to such a system.