A proposed mortgage program designed to help homebuyers compete with all-cash offers is at the center of a closely watched dispute before the Second Circuit. In a direct appeal filed by Harter Secrest & Emery attorneys Jeffrey A. Wadsworth and Laura A. Higgins on behalf of Canandaigua National Corporation, the financial holding company is challenging the Federal Reserve’s denial of its proposed cash guarantee mortgage program. The case is drawing attention from major banking groups, some of which have filed an amicus brief arguing the Fed relied on a flawed interpretation of federal law and failed to adequately consider the program’s limited risk. The case tests the ability of financial holding companies to pursue innovative, “complementary” financial activities to compete with nonbank lenders.