Kamakura Corp., a Honolulu-based maker of risk-management software, said its index of troubled public companies deteriorated in October at the sharpest rate since it was started in 1990.

It said the October index of troubled companies jumped to 22 percent of the public company universe from 16.4 percent in September as it registered the 14 decline in credit quality in 15 months. The index covers more than 21,000 publicly traded companies in 30 countries.

"The widespread recognition that a severe recession is underway affected the corporate universe across the board," said Warren Sherman, Kamakura president, in a press statement.

The October index was the highest level since January 2003. The index reached a high of 28 percent in September 2001.