European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde told CNBC Thursday that her institution was "fully committed to avoid any fragmentation" in bond markets, walking back comments made earlier during a press conference in Frankfurt.

The ECB kept rates unchanged but unveiled a new round of stimulus in an attempt to limit the economic impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus.

Speaking in a press conference after the rate decision, Lagarde said she was "not here to close spreads" in regards to the sovereign debt markets. A spread refers to the difference in yields between two bonds from different euro zone governments. The spread between German and Italian yields, for example, is used as a fear gauge by market participants in times of financial stress.

The central bank has lent cash to governments across the euro area for the last decade in order to combat a debt crisis that began in 2011.