Deposits withheld from dealers and merchants, representing mainly the aggregate dealer retail note and lease withholding accounts from individual John Deere dealers to which losses from retail notes and leases originating from the respective dealers can be charged, amounted to $137.5 million at November 3, 2019, compared with $166.0 million at October 28, 2018.
2018 Compared with 2017
The comparison of the 2018 results with 2017 is in the Company’s 2018 Form 10-K.
Capital Resources and Liquidity
The cash provided by operating and financing activities was used primarily to fund Receivables and Leases. Cash provided by operating activities was $1,760.1 million in 2019. Cash provided by financing activities totaled $2,028.5 million, resulting primarily from a net increase in total external borrowings of $1,897.9 million and an increase in payables to John Deere of $491.8 million, partially offset by dividends paid of $330.0 million. Cash used for investing activities totaled $3,778.4 million in 2019, primarily due to the cost of Receivables acquired (excluding wholesale) exceeding the collections of Receivables (excluding wholesale) by $1,617.7 million, an increase in wholesale receivables of $758.8 million, and the cost of equipment on operating leases acquired exceeding the proceeds from sales of equipment on operating leases by $1,253.3 million. Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash decreased $.9 million during 2019.
Over the last three years, operating activities have provided $4,357.8 million in cash. In addition, an increase in total borrowings of $5,650.7 million provided cash inflows. These amounts have been used mainly to fund Receivable and Lease acquisitions, which exceeded collections of Receivables and proceeds from sale of equipment on operating leases by $8,997.5 million, and to pay $990.0 million in dividends. Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash decreased $522.6 million over the three-year period.
The Company relies on its ability to raise substantial amounts of funds to finance its Receivable and Lease portfolios. The Company has access to most global markets at reasonable costs and expects to have sufficient sources of global funding and liquidity to meet its funding needs. The Company’s ability to meet its debt obligations is supported in several ways. The assets of the Company are self-liquidating in nature. A solid equity position is available to absorb unusual losses on these assets and all commercial paper is backed by unsecured, committed borrowing lines from various banks. Liquidity is also provided by the Company’s ability to securitize these assets and through the issuance of term debt. Additionally, liquidity may be provided through loans from John Deere. The Company’s commercial paper outstanding at November 3, 2019 and October 28, 2018 was $1,345.5 million and $1,987.3 million, respectively, while the total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities position was $635.8 million and $608.4 million, respectively. The amount of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities held by foreign subsidiaries was $134.7 million and $108.3 million at November 3, 2019 and October 28, 2018, respectively.
Capital Corporation has a revolving credit agreement to utilize bank conduit facilities to securitize retail notes (see Note 6). At November 3, 2019, this facility had a total capacity, or “financing limit,” of up to $3,500.0 million of secured financings at any time. The facility was renewed in November 2019 with a capacity of $3,500.0 million. After a two-year revolving period, unless the banks and Capital Corporation agree to renew, Capital Corporation would liquidate the secured borrowings over time as payments on the retail notes are collected. At November 3, 2019, $1,433.7 million of short-term securitization borrowings was outstanding under the agreement.
During 2019, the Company issued $6,743.9 million and retired $4,583.3 million of long-term borrowings, which were primarily medium-term notes. During 2019, the Company also issued $3,309.9 million and retired $2,914.1 million of retail note securitization borrowings and maintained an average commercial paper balance of $2,341.2 million. At November 3, 2019, the Company’s funding profile included $1,460.9 million of commercial paper and other notes payable, $4,277.0 million of securitization borrowings, $1,855.3 million of intercompany loans from John Deere, $26,769.0 million of unsecured term debt, and $4,128.4 million of equity capital. The Company’s funding profile may be altered to reflect such factors as relative costs of funding sources, assets available for securitizations, and capital market accessibility.
Total interest-bearing indebtedness amounted to $34,362.2 million at November 3, 2019, compared with $31,391.2 million at October 28, 2018. Total short-term indebtedness amounted to $13,309.8 million at November 3, 2019, compared with $11,959.0 million at October 28, 2018. Total long-term indebtedness amounted to $21,052.4 million at