This article describes the contribution of foreign funds to the development of Italian electric power companies and the placing of loans in New York in the late 1920s. The effect of foreign loans on the financing structure of nine important Italian electric power companies in a period in which domestic long term funds were lacking is discussed. The transformation into a holding structure followed a path common to electric producers in many countries; at the same time holding companies' securities proved more marketable in the international market and the process of financing was made easier. The eventual macro effects of foreign loans on the domestic money supply and on the level of the Lira exchange rate are examined and some questions are raised concerning the relationship set up between the State, financial intermediaries and private savers during the Fascist regime.