what is a collateralized loan obligation clo 
a collateralized loan obligation clo is a single security backed by a pool of debt the process of pooling assets into a marketable security is called securitization collateralized loan obligations clo are often backed by corporate loans with low credit ratings or loans taken out by private equity firms to conduct leveraged buyouts a collateralized loan obligation is similar to a collateralized mortgage obligation cmo except that the underlying debt is of a different type and character a company loan instead of a mortgage investopedia candra huff