Terminated from a large Private Bank (5 yrs) over check custody issue — U5 shows “performance” — advice on expungement / next steps?

I was recently terminated from a large Private Bank after almost 5 years with the firm. The termination stemmed from a check custody issue during an account opening.

A client was closing out a CD and opening a new account with us. As part of the paperwork, they gave me a check to fund the new account same-day, but the account hadn’t been opened yet. I held the check for five days while working through the opening process, then reached out to the client to have them come collect it rather than continue holding it. There was no client complaint and we ultimately opened the account and funded it with those same funds shortly after.

Several weeks later, HR reviewed the situation and determined it was a terminal offense. I was let go, and my U5 reflects “performance” as the reason for termination  which doesn’t sit right with me, since this wasn’t a performance issue, it was a procedural/process error with no client harm and no complaint involved. I wasn’t on a performance plan prior to this.

I currently have interviews lined up over the next few weeks and the termination hasn’t come up yet in any of the screening interviews.

I’m now trying to figure out my next steps:

• Is this something worth pursuing expungement or an amendment on, or is that typically a waste of time/money for a case like this?
• Has anyone gone through the U5 dispute/expungement process before? How long did it take and was it worth it?
• For those with interviews already scheduled, should I get ahead of this and bring it up proactively, or wait for them to ask? I’m just worried firms won’t look past the U5 language, even though I built an 8 figure book during my time there.

Any advice from people who’ve been through this or seen it play out would be genuinely appreciated. Thanks in advance.