Table:
| ($ in millions) |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| For the year ended December 31: | 2019 | 2018 |
| Net cash provided by/(used in) continuing operations |  |  |
| Operating activities | $14,770 | $15,247 |
| Investing activities | (26,936) | (4,913) |
| Financing activities | 9,042 | (10,469) |
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (167) | (495) |
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $(3,290) | $(630) |
Paragraphs:
Cash Flow
Our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities, as reflected in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows on page 71 are summarized in the table below. These amounts include the cash flows associated with the Global Financing business.
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased $477 million in 2019 driven by the following key factors: • An increase in cash income tax payments of $346 million; • An increase in interest payments on debt of approximately $300 million, driven by incremental debt used to fund the acquisition of Red Hat; and • Performance-related declines within net income, including lower operating cash flows due to businesses divested in 2019; partially offset by • An increase of $836 million in cash provided by financing receivables.
Net cash used in investing activities increased $22,023 million driven by: • An increase in net cash used for acquisitions of $32,491 million, primarily driven by the acquisition of Red Hat; offset by • An increase of $7,223 million in cash provided by net non-operating finance receivables primarily driven by the wind down of OEM IT commercial financing operations; • A decrease in cash used for net capital expenditures of $1,346 million; and • An increase in cash provided by divestitures of $1,076 million.
Financing activities were a net source of cash of $9,042 million in 2019 compared to a net use of cash of $10,469 million in 2018. The year-to-year increase in cash flow of $19,512 million was driven by: • An increase in net cash sourced from debt transactions of $16,584 million primarily driven by net issuances to fund the Red Hat acquisition; and • A decrease in cash used for gross common share repurchases of $3,082 million.
Question:
What caused the The year-to-year increase in cash flow from financing activities?