Housing Discrimination a Fact, Study Says : Home loans: Santa Ana was among few cities with good record in lending to minorities.

Housing discrimination against minorities is continuing among lending agencies, according to a study released over the weekend.

The six-month investigation by U.S. News and World Report said poor and minority homeowners are turned down for property insurance 50% more times than for mostly white, middle-class homeowners.

Another finding was that poor Americans pay twice as much as white residents in middle-class neighborhoods for property insurance.

The report, released Saturday, said that while federal laws encourage banks to lend to the communities they serve, banks are “fleeing poor neighborhoods in ever greater numbers.”

According to the study, there are an average of 38 bank branches per 100,000 residents in white areas and 22 branches in minority neighborhoods.

While it is a violation of federal laws to discriminate against mortgage applicants, the study said middle-income blacks living in minority areas were rejected for bank loans at twice the rate as middle-income whites in white neighborhoods.

The study surveyed 20 cities: Rochester, N.Y.; San Diego; Baltimore; Denver; Long Beach; Cincinnati; Atlanta; St. Louis; Santa Ana; Austin, Tex.; Orlando, Fla.; Chicago; Philadelphia; Memphis; Miami; Milwaukee; New York; Honolulu; Sacramento, and Tucson, Ariz.

The share of total housing loans by banks in each city to its minority areas ranged from a low of 3% in Austin and Orlando to a high of 85% in Honolulu, 67% in Santa Ana and 66% in Miami--three cities with very high numbers of homes in minority areas. Most of the minority area shares of loans were under 30%.